2018 NATIVE YOUTH COMMUNITY PROJECTS

American Indian Resource Center, Inc. PR# S299A180040 (OK) ($824,371)

The American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) applicant, will implement the Sequoyah Project, which represents two counties with two rural schools in these counties being our main LEA partners: Sequoyah High School (Cherokee County, BIE-funded) and Vian Public Schools (Sequoyah County). Other schools to be served include 11 sites in Sequoyah County. The Cherokee Nation Educational Department will represent the Cherokee Nation (tribe), Cherokee Nation Foundation and Carl Albert State College will be partners. The Sequoyah Project will use several strategies to meet the need of College and Career Readiness of American Indian students in 20 school sites by using evidenced-based curriculum and proven program strategies. The outcomes of the project is to provide an overall comprehensive approach to college and career readiness for American Indian students, 5- 12 grades, living in Cherokee and Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. The strategies used to reach these outcomes and the GPRA goals are Leadership, Cultural Identification, Academic Enrichment, STREAM, Virtual Learning, ACT test strategies, and Financial Literacy Defined Local Geographical Area Served by the Project: Project Sequoyah, represents the two counties (Cherokee and Sequoyah (southern area) in northeast Oklahoma) we will be serving- the Indian students (2,320) in grades 5-12th grades in 20 schools in these counties, located in rural northeastern Oklahoma in the heart of Cherokee Nation jurisdictional/tribal area and in Cherokee County, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Barriers and Opportunities Addressed by the Project: Barriers include: low income first generation college, low educational levels, high drop-out rate, teenage pregnancy and the lack or desire to achieve any type of college degree/certificate, the isolated location of their schools and its proximity to opportunities and lack of structured mentoring/educational enrichment. American Indian Resource Center, Inc. Opportunities include partner coordination to deliver services to these communities and learn how to have a “Positive Tomorrow”, productive citizen and “BE BEST” (Melania Trump).
Community Based Strategies and Measurable Objectives of the Project: Strategies will be to meet the need of College and Career Readiness of American Indian students using evidenced based curriculum and proven program designs. These schools will have access to several community based strategies and tools (Leadership, Cultural Identification, Academic Enrichment, STREAM, Virtual Learning (interactive field trips/ Skype, ZOOM), OIE/ACT Testing Strategies (adapted for cultural and age level), and Financial Literacy (Junior Achievement programs through the Cherokee Nation Foundation) and “CASC” Positive Tomorrow. Objective 1. By the end of the 48 months, 80 percent of students will have increased their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale by 10% by participating in Leadership strategy: Project Venture (5-8), Challenge Day, (7 high schools) Native Hope and Cultural Identification, (5-12). Objective 2: By the end of each school year, 80 percent of students participating in Academic Enrichment, STREAM, testing strategies (12 elementary schools), Virtual Learning/ZOOM; will demonstrate an increase in 5 percentage points in two of their core subjects; and those students participating in ACT test strategies (12 elementary and 8 high schools) will demonstrate an increase of 1-2 point on ACT retest. Objective 3: At the end of each school year, the 5th; 6th & 8th grades (12 elementary schools) will have participated in the Junior Achievement strategy and career exploration (5-12th) with an emphasis on careers with a tribal emphasis with 90percent completion rate.

American Indian Science and Engineering Society PR# S299A180039 (NM) ($526,216)

Wóksape Taté Tópa: Community Partnership to Increase College and Career Readiness The project partners include: the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (Indian Organization), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (Tribe) and its TEA, and four schools: Dupree School (LEA), Timber Lake School (LEA), Takini School (BIE), and Tiospaye Topa School (BIE). All proposed project programs and activities will take place within the geographic area of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) reservation. Wóksape Taté Tópa means the wisdom of the four directions in Lakota, and the heart of the proposed project draws on the wisdom and experiences of the four communities and schools involved in this proposed project. The proposed project will address barriers to college and career readiness, specifically in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. There are a multitude of barriers to college and career readiness of AI/AN students living on the CRST reservation. Among those are community wide issues like poverty, poor health, and substance abuse, issues that are pervasive and deeply rooted. Additionally, there is a clear need among schools on the CRST reservation to improve the math and science proficiency of its students. To address these issues the proposed project seeks to increase engagement, interest, and competencies in STEM and computer science subjects among students of all ages, build the capacity of the schools to support students in STEM, and generate parent and community support of and engagement in STEM studies and careers, particularly for AI/AN youth on the CRST reservation. Improving STEM education, by introducing novel and culturally relevant STEM curriculum and programs and providing students with opportunities to grow and flourish in new environments, is the mission of the proposed collaborative project. The proposed project will build upon existing relationships, opportunities, and infrastructure established through a FY2016 NYCP grant to scale the current efforts and expand opportunities and resources to all schools, students, teachers, and communities on the CRST reservation. The following are the proposed measurable objectives of the project: 1. Increase STEM interest and competencies among students in grades K-12 through in-class lessons, family STEM nights, summer- and after-school programs, AISES events, college preparation resources and activities, and STEM research;
2. Increase the STEM education capacity of Dupree, Timber Lake, Takini, and Tiospaye Topa Schools through curriculum development, teacher training and professional development, college readiness resource development, and STEM supplies and equipment; and 3. Increase CRST community interest and engagement in STEM, particularly among parents through family STEM nights, outreach and promotion conducted by CRST, and involvement of CRST elders and community members in developing and incorporating Lakota culture and language in all the proposed project activities. In this community-based project, AISES will provide STEM knowledge, program development and implementation. CRST will generate community support and participation, and the four schools will provide educational expertise and facilities, as well as recruit administrator, teacher, and student participants. All the partners have the expertise and passion to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate the proposed project in order to significantly improve the college and career readiness of AI/AN students on the CRST reservation.

Bay Mills Indian Community PR# S299A180045 (MI) ($494,098)

Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC), a federally recognized tribe, is allowing Boys & Girls Club of Bay Mills (commonly referred to as the Club) to apply on their behalf. The Club, an Indian organization and a department of the BMIC, is the lead applicant for this grant and will serve as the administrative agency managing the development, application and assessment of the EmPOWERing Our Youth program. There are four components to this project that will provide a comprehensive approach to assisting the youth of the community in achieving in school and improving their educational opportunities. Part one of the project will entail expanding upon “Power Hour.” This is a homework lab and tutoring service that is currently available through the Club. The expansion will include hiring additional staff members that are able to assist parents and students in optimizing their educational experience through tutoring and homework help; resource identification and facilitation of workshops for parents to enable them to academically help their child/student; and support staff that is able to coordinate communication between the student, parent and school. This will help to ensure that all the needs are met for each child (and parent/family) involved in the program. Power Hour will also be able to introduce a computer/tablet lab for the area Native American youth. Part two of the project will involve bringing more consistent and ongoing cultural teachings into all three Club sites by hiring one full-time staff member that is strictly devoted to this. The third part of the project involves increasing access to the Club by purchasing a 15-person van to transport students to and from the Bay Mills and Brimley Club sites, to also include funding to license current staff members to drive transportation. This will allow for more access to the resources available to the students. Finally, part four of the project will be the introduction of a robotics and science camp for the Native American youth in grades 6-12. This proposed program will primarily serve BMIC tribal youth, as well as many Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians youth. Approximately 363 youth (ages 5-19) will benefit from this project. The club is open to all youth in the area, however, those that do attend are primarily Native American (244 of the attendees are Native American). The primary priority of this project is to effectively develop a program that improves the educational opportunities and achievement of Native American students.

Bernalillo Municipal School District PR# S299A180049 (NM) ($770,468)

Consortium Members: Schools: Bernalillo Public School (BPS). Tribes and Tribal Education Departments: Pueblos of Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Zia, Jemez. Organizations: Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School and College Horizons, Inc. Program Name: BPS Student Success Program (SSP) Purpose: In national conversations college and career readiness is typically framed with the goal to prepare a future workforce that is ready to compete in the global economy. As educators we grapple with the question, “what does it mean to be college and career ready?” When thinking of college and career readiness from an indigenous framework the question is deepened to ask, “What does it mean to be college and career ready and what does it mean to be community and culture ready?” In other words, what does connecting college and career readiness to community and culture look like? The purpose of the Student Success Program is to provide culturally relevant college and career readiness programs that are rooted and aligned with Pueblo core values, community, culture and career needs so that Pueblo students will be their full self without having to choose between community and culture and/or career and college. Outcomes and Priorities: 1) Provide a culturally relevant college and career readiness curriculum for 7th-12th grade BPS students that meets the needs and reflects the community, cultural, linguistic, economic and core values of the Pueblo communities, 2) Increase parent/family and Pueblo community engagement in college and career readiness curricular goals through institutes that gather the needs, recommendations and priorities of the community, 3) Align the CCCRC in the school, home, Pueblo Tribal Education Departments so that students, families, communities and the school can collectively and comprehensively support and advise students on college and career pathways that reflect the community and cultural priorities, and 4) Provide school based and community based individualized advising to students and families and achieve a 100:1 student to counselor ratio by placing 7 Student Success Coordinators in the high school and middle schools to support the current school counselors. Number of Participants to be Served: A total of 610 Native American students in BPS middle and high school will be served alongside 500 parents/families. Through the Leadership Institute’s gatherings and College Horizons trainings 300 educators, parents, community members will be served. The Number and Proposed Sites: Four school sites (Bernalillo High & Middle School, Cochiti Middle School and Santo Domingo Middle School) and 7 Pueblo communities and Departments of Education (Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Sandia, Jemez, and Zia). Activities to Secure Employment for Participants: Through the convening’s of the Leadership Institute, the economic, career needs and priorities of the Pueblos will be identified and then integrated into the adaptation of the college and career readiness curriculum. This alignment allows for the school, Pueblo and students/parents to work strategically on career pathways that allow a Pueblo student to contribute meaningfully to their home community. Additionally, the Leadership Institute’s established Summer Youth Tribal Employment program will provide 20 summer internships each year of the grant to BPS students. The Student Success Coordinators will identify other career readiness programs offered in BPS and in the Pueblos and will work with students to complete applications for participation. For example, Bernalillo Public Schools has a Carl Perkins Career Pathway grant and Pueblo youth will be encouraged to participate in a pathway of their choice. Certain Pueblos also offer summer internships such as San Felipe, who offers internships in the Department of Natural Resources and in Government Administration.

Blackwater Community School PR# S299A180006 (AZ) ($782,483)

Purpose and Expected Outcomes of the Project: The Developing Readers: A Home, School and Community Partnership Model project is designed to meet the absolute priority of ensuring Native American children/students are college and career ready through a comprehensive, needs-based, three-tiered model focused on literacy/reading proficiency delivered in the home and school through community partnerships. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to ensure that all children on Gila River Indian Reservation become proficient readers by third grade. The identified goals for the project are as follows: Goal 1: Increase the reading proficiency level of all students enrolled in K-3 at the School Choice partners utilizing an Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) evidence-based curriculum. Goal 2: Initiate a comprehensive home visiting/family engagement program with a focus on literacy within the home and community. Goal 3: Establish two demonstration preschool sites to expand high quality education to meet the unfulfilled need on Gila River Indian Reservation. Goal 4: Establish a cross-sector, professional learning community that builds the capacity of families to engage in home-based literacy practices and the development of school-based reading expertise of all teachers in preschool – 3rd grade schools that results in an increase in the reading proficiency of all students. The School Choice partners schools and Early Childhood Centers for the Developing a Reader proposal includes: Blackwater Community School (BIE Pre-K-3) Lead and fiscal agent, Akimel O’Otham Pee Posh Charter School (3-5), Gila Crossing Community School (BIE Pre-K–8), Sacaton Elementary School District (Pre-K–8), St. Peter Indian Mission School (K-8) and Tribal Education’s Early Childhood Learning Centers. Community Partnerships include First One Hundred Institute that will coordinate with the National Center for Family Learning to deliver a three-tiered professional development and technical assistance model for the Home Visiting/Family Engagement program, for the Preschool program utilizing the Circles® curriculum and the delivery of a comprehensive K-3 reading -professional development model. Southwest Human Development will expand and train pediatricians at three clinics on the Reach Out and Read project. Julie Cibbarelli, DIBELS Trainer, will work with the schools on administering and analyzing DIBELS reading data. Arizona State University will conduct the project evaluation. Defined Local Geographic Area: The Gila River Indian Community is a 374,000-acre Indian Reservation located in South Central Arizona, bordering the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Community lies south of the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Chandler, and north of Casa Grande. GRIC is the fourth largest federally recognized Native American Tribe in the United States and consists of two distinct tribes the Pimas (Akimel O’Odham) and Maricopas (Pee Posh).The Barriers and Opportunities to be Addressed by the Project: The seeds for readiness are planted in the home — readiness for school, readiness for career success, readiness for college. Gila River Tribal families stand among thousands of Indian families nationwide who fight a continuing battle to achieve optimal conditions for growing career-oriented learners that are ready. The partners intend to implement Develop Readings across the Gila River Indian Reservation by overcoming the biggest barriers to college and career readiness—limited family engagement centered on literacy, limited access to high quality preschools programs, the adoption of evidenced-based reading programs in K-3 that will ensure that all children are proficient readers at the end of third grade as measured by AZ. Merit and a comprehensive professional development model focused on the home, school and the community. The ultimate goal of the proposal is to ensure that all students are proficient readers in 3rd grade; there by, becoming “College and Career” ready students.

Blue Lake Rancheria PR# S299A180007 (CA) ($721,866)

Applicant: Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe. Consortium for Tribal Innovation and Entrepreneurship (C-TIE) Partners: Humboldt County Office of Education (LEA), Northern Humboldt Union High School District. Purpose and Expected Project Outcomes: The proposed Pathmakers program is a community-driven, comprehensive project to help K-12 Native Youth in Humboldt County (Northwest California) become college- and career-ready through culturally-adapted, extra-curricular, STEAM-focused “makerspace” programming that provides them with additional choices and paths for accessing educational opportunities. Outcomes for Native Youth in Pathmakers include gaining the skills and competencies that make them college and career ready. The project design seeks to foster the following attributes in Native Youth participants: 1) enhanced self-efficacy, 2) greater ability to set goals and persist in achieving them, and 3) stronger interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM). The program is designed to address achievement gaps and strengthen the self-determination of Native Youth as they come to see themselves as capable and contributing members of ingenious and resilient cultures. Pathmakers program evaluations will seek to determine if improvements in self-efficacy, goal-setting, and persistence lead to skill and competency acquisition, and thus to higher rates of retention and post-secondary attainment (college or career). An additional outcome is the development of culturally-adapted K-12 makerspace curricula. The project team has an objective of developing (a minimum of) 104 K-12 STEAM-based “modules” over the four years of project delivery. Number of Participants to be Served: Pathmakers includes programming available to 1,600 K-12 Native American students in public schools in Humboldt County. The program team has established a goal of a minimum of 500 participants per year (after-school, weekend, summer). Number and Location of Proposed Sites: The Pathmakers program will be accessible to all 27 school districts in Humboldt County with Native Youth enrolled, but will prioritize mobile outreach and on-site programming to sites with a higher numbers of Native Youth (NY), including nine districts with 616 NY students combined: Eureka City Schools (212 NY students), McKinleyville Union Elementary (98 NY students), Northern Humboldt Union High (108 NY students), Fortuna Elementary (44 NY students), South Bay Union Elementary (43 NY students), Cutten Elementary (39 NY students), Loleta Union Elementary (36 NY students), and Humboldt County Office of Education (28 NY students). The following schools have between 10 and 25 NY students (a total of 133) and will be also included in the mobile outreach at lower rates: Arcata Elementary, Blue Lake Union Elementary, Ferndale Unified, Freshwater Elementary, Mattole Unified, Pacific Union Elementary, Southern Humboldt Joint Unified, and Trinidad Union Elementary. Summer mobile outreach programming (workshops, camps) will also be held on-site at tribal reservations (see tribe list below) and will be able to reach hundreds of NY not reached in after-school programs (e.g., there are 570 K-12 students in the Hoopa Tribe). How the project will conduct activities to assist participants in identifying and securing qualifying employment: HCOE and NHUHSD offer several Career Technical Education (CTE) programs including: 1) Education at Work, 2) Humboldt Maker Movement, 3) Trades Academy, 4) Health Career Exploration Project, and 5) Skills Academy. By supporting CTE high school career pathway programs, employers in Humboldt County help bridge the connection from classroom to real work experiences, while building a pipeline of future employees. The C-TIE consortium partners recognize that early exposure to career options is critical, and work to help learners explore their career options while in school, rather than waiting until after graduation.
Indian Tribes Involved with the Project: Members of the Bear River, Blue Lake, Big Lagoon, Hoopa, Karuk, Table Bluff, Trinidad, and Yurok tribes will be involved in this project.

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes PR# S299A180027 (OK) ($663,017)

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes is a federally-recognized American Indian Tribe and an established Tribal Education Agency (TEA) with jurisdiction located in Western Oklahoma. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes service area includes 8,996 square miles, serving nine counties, including: Beckham, Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Ellis, Kingfisher, Roger Mills, Washita, and Woodward Counties. Canadian County is considered the only urban county within the tribes’ service area, and all eight remaining counties are considered rural areas without adequate resources available within the rural jurisdictional proximity. The total population of tribal members is 12,631. The total number of local tribal members are 5,251. There are 1,435 tribal members employed above the poverty line include and 4,075 members underemployed and living below the poverty level. The total number of unemployed tribal members in all counties is 3,103. This project focuses on students attending elementary school, beginning in third grade, and extending into middle school through the eighth grade. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Department of Education conducted a needs assessment survey at the partnering rural based local educational agency (LEA) within our service area, including Clinton Public Schools. Based upon these assessments, the data displayed a strong need for college and career preparation, as well as tutoring and cultural education. The barriers identified consisted of high unemployment rates, and employment opportunities, limited resources, and lack of educational activities. Objectively, the tribes will utilize a community based strategy with measurable outcomes outlining goals that focus on increasing attendance, improve after-school programs, increase community initiatives to engage parents and children in educational and cultural activities, improve GPA, collaborate to build community based resources and continue STEP-NYCP mentorships.

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma PR# S299A180008 (OK) ($731,463)

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, in partnership with Jones Academy
(BIE-funded school) and Hartshorne Public School, plans to implement Project Pehlichi (Choctaw translation: Leader) at Choctaw Nation Head Start centers and Jones Academy to create culturally aware, competent, confident Native students who are prepared to pursue college and career opportunities. Project Pehlichi will be housed at Jones Academy in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. Students range in grades 1st through 12th, with approximately 75 percent of students from rural areas and small towns in eastern Oklahoma. Project Pehlichi will create a culturally rich learning environment in all Choctaw Nation Head Start Centers by implementing technology, STEAM activities, and Conscious Discipline trainings; Jones Academy Elementary will implement Voyager and Reading Plus reading programs. Project Pehlichi will provide structure and support for Jones Academy students in grades 7th – 12th to enhance the outcome of high school graduates and college and career success rates by establishing a Student Success Center. Project Pehlichi staff will host STEAM Camps for Native elementary and secondary students on the Jones Academy campus and STEAM Saturdays for Native students in grades 5-12 to expose and promote college and career readiness in regional locations in CNO territory. Project Pehlichi will serve 2,505 Native students during the 48 month project period. With culture being at the heart of Choctaw Nation Head Start’s work, using an instructor that focuses on cultural competency and Native children is integral. Conscious Discipline (CD) is a leader in classroom management and provides a transformational, whole-school solution for social-emotional learning, discipline, and self-regulation. CD equips educators to integrate social-emotional learning, discipline, and self-regulation so that teachers spend less time policing behavior and more time teaching vital life skills. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma – Project Pehlichi Special Programs for Indian Children – Demonstration Grants (NYCP).When students have the ability to read with confidence and read well, a foundation is established to succeed in other academic endeavors. Voyager reading programs deliver results across the spectrum of student needs including those in special education, ELL, and those who have simply fallen behind. Reading Plus reading program focuses on two key domains of reading motivation (interest and confidence) and how they relate to reading comprehension, efficiency, and overall reading proficiency.
Students succeed in their educational endeavors when they have the tools and support needed. A Student Success Center will be established at Jones Academy to ensure 7th – 12th grade students will have access to quality tutoring and have the necessary equipment to succeed. STEAM will be implemented through elementary and high school summer camps and STEAM Saturdays will rotate quarterly to regional locations in the 10.5 counties of the Territory. Adding the art component to STEM (Science, Technology, engineering and math) helps bring Native American culture into the lives of Indian students and develops the whole learner. Project Pehlichi has a range of partners entwined in the project to maximize both the effectiveness and quality of service. Jones Academy, Hartshorne Public Schools, and Choctaw Nation Head Starts will be critical components to this project. Other partners include parents, American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), UNITY Native Leadership, American Indian Institute (Aii) at the University of Oklahoma, NASA, corresponding school districts and community providers and other Choctaw programs that serve the target population. The Choctaw Nation believes that Project Pehlichi will spearhead dramatic changes in student success.

Coeur d’Alene Tribe PR# S299A180001 (ID) ($627,706)

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe Native Youth Community Project is developed to provide educational opportunities for preschool children who are not enrolled in early learning program due to not meeting the Head Start Low Income guidelines (over income) and improve educational opportunities for secondary students in grades 9 – 12 on the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Reservation. The defined local geographic area is to ensure that Native American students are prepared for college and careers. The program will be implemented in partnership with the Tribe and Coeur d’Alene Tribe Early Childhood Learning Center and Plummer-Worley School District. In addressing this purpose, the performance standard is to significantly increase community collaboration efforts that promote college and career readiness of preschool and high school students.
The overarching goal of the Coeur d’Alene Native Youth Community Program is to design and implement a place based college and career readiness Science, Technology, Engineer, Art, Math (STEAM) for preschool age children and a cultural responsive STEM high school and college preparation program for high school students attending Plummer-Worley School District. A cultural responsive pedagogy is designed to increase school attendance, student success, and school retention and strengthen cultural identity. To achieve, the program has four objectives: 1) In collaboration with Coeur d’Alene Tribe Early Childhood learning Center, Natural Resources, and Lake Management Staff, design and implement a culturally place-based STEAM College and Career readiness program for 18 preschool age children and their families.
2) In partnership with Plummer-Worley School Staff, Natural Resources and Lake Management Staff create and implement a cultural Responsive School Success Program in collaboration with Families, Plummer-Worley School District Administrators, School Counselors and Teaching Staff for approximately 125 students. 3) In partnership with Plummer-Worley School District Staff, families, and with North Idaho College and University of Idaho develop a college and career preparation program. 4) Develop a college program for juniors and senior attending the Plummer-Worley School District in partnership with families, school counselors and with North Idaho College and University of Idaho. For each objective, there is a series of strategies and activities to meet the objective in the management structure for the program.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes PR# S299A180044 (MT)($635,267)

Two Eagle River School (TERS), the BIE-funded high school of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) proposes to partner with CSKT Tribal Health, Nkwusm Salish Language Immersion School, Kicking Horse Job Corp, Selis- Qlispe Culture Committee and Salish Kootenai College to improve the college and career readiness of American Indian students attending TERS. The overall goal of the TERS NYCP is to increase the educational performance of American Indian students in order to ensure that upon graduation, each student is well prepared for college and/or a career. The intended outcomes of the project are designed to promote systematic, reservation-wide, and long-lasting change by: 1. Increasing the capacity of TERS to provide career and college counseling, mentoring and instruction for AI students and their families;
2. Enhancing the cultural opportunities for TERS students and families through curriculum transformations, cultural field trips, Salish language instruction, and other opportunities; 3. Enhancing the cooperation and connections among tribal partners; 4. Advancing the pedagogical skills for educators and counselors working with AI students, particularly around differentiated instruction; 5. Increasing the efficacy of the Indian Education Committee to advocate for AI students and families regarding student growth and college/career readiness; and 6. Creating sustainable materials and messaging for AI youth and families about the importance of career/college planning that may be used beyond the grant period. The TERS NYCP will serve 110 TERS students and approximately 400 family members each year on the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana (Appendix C). The applicant and partners have conducted a thorough analysis and survey of the greatest barriers for tribal students and have based our project goals and activities on quantitative and qualitative data that form a comprehensive needs assessment. This needs assessment, with the input of AI parents and family members, indicate the many challenges of AI youth in becoming well prepared for college and careers. The lack of effective college and career information and support for AI student and their families, combined with the lack of cultural connections to education, limits American Indian students’ interest and success in college and career readiness. It is the intent of this project to assist TERS students in setting and achieving college and career goals in order to identify and obtain employment.
Therefore, the TERS NYCP plans to increase the college and career education AI students and their families through the following goals: Goal 1: TERS students will be academically, socially, and emotionally prepared for college and/or career success Goal 2: TERS teachers will deliver culturally relevant, rigorous, and engaging instruction that results in a higher percentage of career and college ready students Goal 3: TERS parents and family members will receive support and resources to ensure their children are socially, emotionally, and academically prepared for college and careers

Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. PR# S299A180016 (AK) ($965,726)

Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (CITC), in partnership with the Anchorage School District, a LEA, proposes Passages to demonstrate the effectiveness of a program to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Alaska Native/American Indian students at the 6th-8th grade level, when in-school and out-of-school barriers to college and career readiness combine most acutely. The proposed project will create a new local opportunity designed to increase access to educational choice through a public educational program by enhancing course choice with in-school support services and extra-curricular community engagement activities for Alaska Native/American Indian 6th- 8th grade students in the geographic area of Anchorage. The proposed project is responsive to three Competitive Preference Priorities, as well as the Absolute Priority, entitling it to 11 Competitive Preference points, as follows:
•Priority 2: CITC is the lead applicant. •Priority 3: CITC is a current Alaska Native Education Program awardee •Priority 4: the proposed program will increase Indian students’ access to educational choice. Passages will serve a total of 416 Alaska Native/American Indian students over 4 years, incorporating 6 evidence based methods into project design: a) Multi-Grade Classrooms, b) Project-Based Learning (PBL), c) Culturally Based Education (CBE), d) Fab Lab, e) Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), and f) Youth Advocacy (YA). Passages’ project design is appropriate to, and will successfully address, needs related to academic barriers by providing in school educational choice. It will address needs related to school climate and connectedness barriers by incorporating Alaska Native culture into the classroom environment and retaining a Youth Advocate at each participating school. An optional after school club, focused on developing computer assisted three dimensional design solutions to community problems, will create an additional engagement point for youth. Facilitated by the Youth Advocate and taught by a K-8 teacher, the 3-D Club will bridge school and community service. The proposed project design addresses needs related to out of school barriers by making Youth Advocates available to assist families access community resources. Resources directly available through CITC programs include Employment and Training services, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), parenting supports, healthy relationship classes, child care assistance, and recovery services. Other services, including health care, victim services, and early learning, are available by referral to community partners.

Del Norte County Office of Education PR# S299A180042 (CA) ($789,899)

Redwood Coast Indian Career Pathways Program (RC) The Del Norte County Office of Education’s Redwood Coast Indian Career Pathways Program is named for the towering redwoods among which the Yurok, Tolowa and Karuk people of Northwestern California have lived for over 10,000 years. Redwood Coast will serve nearly 700 American Indian Gr. 6-12 students in a comprehensive high school, one continuation high school, one charter high school, one middle school and two K-8 schools across an area bigger than Delaware. The program serves students from California’s largest tribe, as well as students from the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Resighini Rancheria, and Elk Valley Rancheria. Locally on Tribal lands and in the community, good-paying, mid-level and high-skills jobs are available, but too often go unfilled because local American Indian adults lack the requisite skills and credentials. Redwood Coast seeks to address these challenges and opportunities and prepare AI students with a clear plan for during and after high school and the skills necessary to achieve their post-secondary goals. While not all students have the same skills or familial support, all deserve a pathway to success in school and life. WR will focus on three career pathways offering students opportunities aligned with both tribal and non-tribal careers. The three pathways offer job opportunities, living wages and the opportunity for those young people who wish to develop the skills necessary to follow their own entrepreneurial dreams. They are: (1) Early Childhood Education and Teaching, (2) Natural Resources, and (3) Business, Small Business, Entrepreneurship. All three align with “Targets of Opportunity” identified by the Labor Market Information Division of the California Employment Development Department. Through a partnership with College of the Redwoods, through these three pathways students will have the opportunity to earn college credits as part of dual enrollment classes offered at the high schools by College of the Redwoods, our community college partner.
The participating tribes will host summer cultural, work and internship activities for students. Redwood Coast Goals, Objectives and Performance Measures
Goal 1: By 2022 increase American Indian high school graduation rate from 82.40% to 90% Goal 2: By 2022 increase the college ready American Indian student rate from 18.53% to 36% Goal 3: American Indian 8th graders will transition successfully to high school. Goal 4: 50% of American Indian graduates will earn at least nine dual enrollment units or complete at least one 100 hour internship (work experience) in their pathway Goal 5: Sustain the program beyond Federal funding. RC will fund a 0.25 Project Director from DNCOE, a 1.0 FTE Project Coordinator and 0.5 FTE Career and Internship Coordinator (both employed by the Yurok Tribe), and six school district staff (three Site Leads [SL) and three Indian Education Techs [IET]). WR uses school employees because they have full access to students and their data, are school based and receive support and supervision from school principals (whose performance is evaluated by how students achieve). The SLs, IETs and Title 6 staff will be trained how to help students and families select and apply for college/post-secondary programs and receive coaching and support to directly work with college-bound students as well as students pursuing career and technical training so all 12th graders complete the FAFSA and are supported to apply for scholarships and financial aid. DNCOE, the Yurok and Tolowa Education Depts. and partners will work with the California Indian History Curriculum Coalition (CIHCC) to develop and review curriculum that integrates the American Indian experience across the curriculum. The curriculum will be posted to tribal, district and the CIHCC website. Teachers in WR schools will also participate in trauma informed instruction PD to help children develop resilience, or the ability to overcome serious hardship. Redwood Coast meets the Absolute Priority by focusing on ensuring Indian students from a defined geographic area are prepared for college and careers. It meets Competitive Preference Priority (CPP) 1 because DNCOE is an RLIS district. WR meets CPP 4 by providing families support and counseling. Through its evidence-based design and its adherence to best practices Redwood Coast has the potential to be suitable for replication or testing in other settings.

Fairbanks Native Association PR# S299A180011 (AK) ($675,445)

Purpose and Expected Outcomes of the Project: The Fairbanks Native Association (FNA), in partnership with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD), proposes Native Families Engage in Education & Career Development, a project designed to pave the way to success for college and career readiness by providing wrap-around social/emotional support and academic interventions to address low performance of Alaska Native students in Fairbanks, to include career day and attendance improvement. Project objectives are: a) annually, at least 20 of Alaska Native students meet or exceed proficiency in reading and math scores from fall to spring assessment as measured by AIMS web Plus Universal Screening scores; b) Annually, 40 percent of Alaska Native students served increase their attendance as measured by the District’s PowerSchool Premier database; and c) Annually, at least 30 percent of parents with Alaska Native students served, increase their parental involvement as measured by parent self-reporting surveys. Applicable Priorities: Absolute Priority 1 – Fairbanks Native Association is applying as the Tribe for Fairbanks as authorized by Doyon, Limited via the attached tribal authorization resolution. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is the local LEA and is a partner in this grant application via the attached MOA.
Competitive Preference Priority 2 – Fairbanks Native Association is the lead applicant and Tribe for Fairbanks. Competitive Preference Priority 3 – The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is the main partner for this grant project and the District has received an Alaska Native Education grant (ESEA sections 6301-6306) within the last four years. Competitive Preference Priority 4 – This project will be increasing access to educational choice for students who are Indian (Alaska Native) in the form of academic and social support during the school day, provided by 9 Family Services Coordinators, 1 Project Director, and after school family engagement and career development events.
Number of Participants to Be Served: At least 630 Alaska Native students.
Number and Location of Proposed Sites:Nine elementary schools in the Fairbanks North Star Borough will be served by this project. We will work with the School District to determine which schools demonstrate the most need according to Alaska Native student data upon receipt of grant funds.
How the Project Will Conduct Activities to Assist Participants in Identifying and Securing Qualifying Employment: This project includes 9 Family Services Coordinators and 1 Project Director who will work with elementary students to increase reading/mathematics scores, provide increased social-emotional support to reduce the burden of outside barriers to help children focus on learning in school, increase attendance of participants to increase graduation rates and career development activities for children and families – all to increase academic preparedness and graduation rates so Alaska Native children can move on to college and career success. Indian Tribes Involved in the Project: Doyon, Limited has authorized Fairbanks Native Association to apply as the Tribe for Fairbanks, Alaska.

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe PR#S299A180003 (SD) ($968,741)

Title: Demonstration Education Project Population to be served: This application is a concerted and cooperative effort between the Flandreau Sioux Tribe and the Flandreau School District. The School District is non-Native and this is the first Memorandum of Agreement between the two entities. There are over 200 Flandreau Tribe students in the District schools; grade, middle and high school. The schools are situated in and around the Flandreau reservation. Goals: Increase student capabilities socially, emotionally, spiritually, and academically so they will be prepared to enroll in to higher education courses and/or prepare them for careers. Expected outcomes:Students’ and parents’ needs will have been addressed through the completion of this project. All Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe students will have participated in all of the objectives and activities during the three year project. The Flandreau School District will have institutionalized the South Dakota State certified Dakota Language Courses in the middle and senior high schools. The school district will have also institutionalized the culturally relevant history and social studies courses developed from this project. Data to be collected: The Flandreau Sioux Tribe will compile all quantitative and qualitative data collected throughout the three year project. A comprehensive final report will be produced that includes all objectives and activities and the impact will be identified utilizing data collected.

Fort Peck Community College PR# S299A180021 (MT) ($999,114)

The Chanté Demonstration project is a partnership between Fort Peck Community College and four school districts on the Fort Peck Reservation. The four school districts are Brockton School District, Frazer School District, Poplar School District, and Wolf Point School District. These schools serve the children of the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes. The purpose of the project is to help Native American students on the Fort Peck Reservation be better prepared for college and careers through individualized career pathway planning, intentional protective factors design, and promotion of noncognitive skills development. The expected outcomes of the project are: 1) Teachers understand risk factors and effectively use strategies to address trauma; 2) School attendance increases by 10 percent at each district; 3) Increase math and English language achievement scores by 5 percent; 4) 100 percent of middle school students identify and explore career fields of interest; 5) 80 percent of high school students have a career pathway plan in place; 6) 80 percent of high school students experience FPCC prior to graduation; and 7) 50 percent of high school students earn college credit prior to graduation; 8) increase graduation rates by 6 percent; and 9) 50 percent of high school graduates enter college within the first year of graduation. The Chanté Demonstration project meets qualifications for the absolute priority as a Native Youth Community Project and 3 Competitive Preference Priorities: 1) the project includes four eligible LEAs (school districts listed above); 2) FPCC is an eligible TCU and serves as the lead partner, and 4) the project offers families and individuals alternatives for high quality education. The project will serve over 1,000 students and impact approximately 100 teachers across the four sites in the geographic area of the Fort Peck Reservation. The project includes various career preparation activities for students in middle through high school and into college. These will include job shadowing, career exploration, deep career investigation, and field trips to various businesses and industries in the region. These activities will help participants (students) become more career and college ready. The project includes the Fort Peck Tribal Education Department (TEA) as a partner. In addition, the project will engage the Fort Peck Language & Culture Department to provide support. These tribal entities will be important to project success.

Goldbelt Heritage Foundation PR# S299A180039 (NM) ($803,079)

Goldbelt Heritage Foundation meets all the Absolute and Competitive Preference Priorities 1 to 4 for the NYCP grant. GHF is requesting award funds to develop the Atwusku Toonaxh Yeekawdigan: Your Knowledge Shines Around You. This project is designed to collaboratively promote the college and career readiness of Indian children, by remedying the persistent low achievement, absenteeism, and dropout rates for our Alaska Native youth, which is the result of an educational system which has historically lacked culturally relevant and responsive education. The Atwusku Toonaxh Yeekawdigan: Your Knowledge Shines Around overall goal of this project is to increase fluency in the Tlingit language and provide opportunities for Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) youth in Juneau, Angoon and Klukwan to experience college and have multiple supports in culture-based career pathways. The project will serve 5 High Schools within the three communities inclusive of Juneau Douglas High School, Yakoosge Daakahidi, Thunder Mountain and Chatham High Schools in Angoon and Klukwan. This project is designed to prepare AN/AI students for college and career planning, focusing on careers which include the Tlingit Language by weaving several strands Grant Objective 1: GHF language experts will work in partnership with University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) to establish Occupational Endorsements; Grant Objective 2: Provide early college pathways and career guidance and support for AN/AI high school students to attend dual enrollment (high school and college) classes in Tlingit Language, Northwest Coast Art, Small Business Management with Ethnomathematics, Fisheries Technology, Creative Writing, Alaska Native Studies and Pathways for Early Teachers each year of the grant, with the academic support of a tutor in addition to youth participating in work experience opportunities. Grant Objective 3: Provide 10 teachers training on newly developed Tlingit Language Minor/Occupation Endorsement curriculum and Tlingit Language Scope and Sequence Levels 4 and 5. Grant Objective 4: Provide a series of monthly career and college readiness counseling classes and college exploration trips for students serving a total of 70 students over the 4 year project period. Grant Objective 5: Create twelve (12) teacher toolkits for occupational endorsement coursework. Grant Objective 6: Implement Trauma Informed Schools curriculum workshops for teachers in the Juneau School District. Grant Objective 7: Develop advisory committee by the end of Grant Year One to coordinate Trauma Informed Services advocacy, policy development, implementation, and coordination with other initiatives for the Juneau School District, families, and the greater community service providers. This project will be implemented through community partnerships, with the Douglas Indian Association (federally recognized Tribe comprised of Tlingit tribal members), Juneau School District, Chatham School District, University of Alaska Southeast and Alaska Native elders, mentors, parents and youth. Atwusku Toonaxh Yeekawdigan: Your Knowledge Shines Around You will serve a total 300 students, families, community members, teachers, and other local service providers each year of the project.

Hydaburg City School District PR# S299A180025 (AK) ($732,284)

Hydaburg City School District (LEA) has partnered with the Hydaburg Cooperative Association (Tribe-Haida) to apply for the Native Youth Community Project: GULGA. In Haida, this means Industrious and Willing to Work. The Purpose of the Project is to insure our Native Alaskan youth are College and Career ready with the final goal being not only to graduate youth prepared for the work force, but to improve the economic situation for them and everyone in Hydaburg by increasing youth and community employability. Outcome: By their Senior year, Native Alaskan youth will have created and fulfilled a Personal Learning Plan leading to their chosen career. Students are offered 2 Lanes on the Gulga Freeway: Gulga in College and Gulga in Careers. Career Counseling will help them navigate choices and the education system along with the many barriers to success. Hydaburg students will graduate with academic credentials to move them forward in their chosen lane, tools to cope with cultural disconnect and with moving away from the isolated community. They will also have the tools to resist the substance abuse and delinquency rife in Hydaburg and fit in to the social and cultural environment of a post-secondary school or professional, work setting. NYCP: GULGA meets the Absolute Priority by developing the program for Native Alaskan students, learning from the tribe and elders, but contributing to the community through service projects and employment. Competitive Preference Priority 3 is met through the lead applicant having received grant awards through the Alaska Native Ed. Program and participating in a Promise grant. HCA and HCSD also request consideration under Competitive Preference Priority 4. The GULGA plan broadens available academic and career options immeasurably through NYCP GULGA Haida=Industrious, Willing to Work Indian Education Grants Program CFDA 84.299A the provision of Distance Learning, dual credit, CTE certifications in welding, construction, culinary arts, fisheries, business and additional training options. Participants Served, Sites: Of the 97 Students in PreK-12th grade, 80 NA and 9 other underserved minority students will benefit from GULGA Freeways. Approximately 194 parents and guardians will be served by the program with a ripple effect positively impacting the entire community of 400 Haida. The project is limited to the 3 schools of Hydaburg City School district, all located in the defined geographic area of Hydaburg City, Prince of Wales Island, AK.

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NYCP: GULGA is designed to assist participants in identifying and securing qualifying employment as outlined in the following table: To be GULGA in College Ready a student:	To be GULGA in Career Ready a student:
Earns the equivalent of 12 college hours through a combination of Dual Credit or Advanced Placement Tests.	Completes all courses within at least one chosen CTE field w/a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Completes 40+ hours of job shadow/intern in the chosen career/major field.	Completes 40+ hours of job shadow/intern in the chosen CTE or related field.
Attends at least 1 counseling meeting per quarter 8th-12th grade.	Attends at least 1 counseling meeting per quarter 8th-12th grade.
Attends at least 1 tribal/cultural learning event	Attends at least 1 tribal/cultural learning event
Attends at least 1 College and Workforce Visit off POW.	Attends at least 1 College and Workforce Visit off POW.
Completes a Service/Career Project.	Completes a Service/Career Project.
Completes all state and district mandated graduation requirements.	Completes all state and district mandated graduation requirements.

IYurok Tribe PR# S299A180015 (CA) ($903,896)

The Yurok Tribe’s Wild Rivers Indian Career Pathways Program is named for the Klamath and Trinity Rivers upon which the Yurok, Hupa and Wiyot people of Northwestern California have fished for salmon and traveled for over 10,000 years. Wild Rivers will serve nearly 800 American Indian Gr. 6-12 students in four comprehensive high schools, four continuation high schools, one charter high school, five middle schools and 12 K-8 schools across an area bigger than Delaware. The program serves students from California’s two largest tribes, the Yurok and Hupa (Hoopa) as well as students from the Wiyot Tribe located along Humboldt Bay. Locally on Tribal lands and in the community, good-paying, mid-level and high-skills jobs are available, but too often go unfilled because local American Indian adults lack the requisite skills and credentials. Wild Rivers seeks to address these challenges and opportunities and prepare AI students with a clear plan for during and after high school and the skills necessary to achieve their post-secondary goals. While not all students have the same skills or familial support, all deserve a pathway to success in school and life. WR will focus on three career pathways offering students opportunities aligned with both tribal and non-tribal careers. The three pathways offer job opportunities, living wages and the opportunity for those young people who wish to develop the skills necessary to follow their own entrepreneurial dreams. They are: (1) Early Childhood Education and Teaching, (2) Natural Resources, and (3) Business, Small Business, Entrepreneurship. All three align with “Targets of Opportunity” identified by the Labor Market Information Division of the California Employment Development Department. Through a partnership with College of the Redwoods, through these three pathways students will have the opportunity to earn college credits as part of dual enrollment classes offered at the high schools by College of the Redwoods, our community college partner. The participating tribes will host summer cultural, work and internship activities for students. Wild Rivers Goals, Objectives and Performance Measures Goal 1: By 2022 increase American Indian high school graduation rate from 82.40 percent to 90 percent
Goal 2: By 2022 increase the college ready American Indian student rate from 18.53 percent to 36 percent Goal 3: American Indian 8th graders will transition successfully to high school. Goal 4: 50 percent of American Indian graduates will earn at least nine dual enrollment units or complete at least one 100 hour internship (work experience) in their pathway Goal 5: Sustain the program beyond Federal funding. Besides a full time Project Director and 0.5 FTE Career and Internship Coordinator, Wild Rivers will fund seven school district staff (four Site Leads [SL) and three Indian Education Techs [IET]). WR intentionally uses school employees because they have full access to students and their data, are school based and benefit from additional support and supervision from school principals whose own performance is evaluated in great part by how well their students achieve. The SLs, IETs and Title 6 staff will be trained in how to help students and families select and apply for college/post-secondary programs. They will receive coaching and support to directly work with college-bound students as well as students pursuing career and technical training so all 12th graders complete the FAFSA and are supported to apply for scholarships and financial aid. The Yurok Education Dept. and partners will work with the schools and the California Indian History Curriculum Coalition (CIHCC) to develop and review curriculum that integrates the American Indian experience across the curriculum. The curriculum will be posted to tribal, district and the CIHCC website. Teachers in WR schools will also participate in trauma informed instruction PD to help children develop resilience, or the ability to overcome serious hardship. Wild Rivers meets the Absolute Priority through its focus on ensuring Indian students from a defined geographic area are prepared for college and careers. WR meets Competitive Preference Priority (CPP) 1 by including 8 SRSA and RLIS districts. It meets CPP 2 since the Yurok Tribe is the applicant. WR meets CPP 4 by providing families support and counseling. Through its evidence-based design and its adherence to best practices Wild Rivers has the potential to be suitable for replication or testing in other settings.

Jefferson County School PR# S299A180020 (OR) ($997,119)

The 1,021 American Indian students in remote, rural Jefferson County School District 509-J (JCSD) face significant in- and out-of-school barriers that impact their educational success. Serving 2,859 students, JCSD, the applicant for this grant, has the highest percentage of American Indian (AI) youth in the state of Oregon, with 36 percent American Indian (AI), 32 percent Latino, 30 percent White, and 2 percent other. While the majority of AI youth attend the Warm Springs K-8 Academy (WS K-8), located on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Indian Reservation, the county’s only high school is located in the town of Madras, thus making the 8th-9th grade transition even more challenging for students. To foster AI students’ school, college and career readiness, JCSD has been working with a myriad of tribal, parent, university and community partners to develop a coordinated system of school, family and community supports. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, including members of the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute Tribes, is a partner on this project. This proposal seeks funding to expand the project, retitled the Ishumax Kadux Program. The purpose of the Ishumax Kadux Program is to (a) increase school, college and career readiness and educational opportunities for AI students and (b) increase opportunities for family, tribal and community participation in students’ education and career aspirations. Activities that will address these needs are (1) a 3-week extended year program at WS K-8, to include targeted math and literacy instruction, tutoring and homework help, tribal-led Native language and cultural activities, and sports/PE programming; (2) a Freshman Summer Bridge program that includes AVID skill development, career-college education, extracurricular activities designed to promote engagement in high school, and stipends for the participating AI students; and (3) a Family Engagement Program that engages our partners to offer school, college and career readiness and cultural programming and classes to all AI families and students. We need this grant to fund the Family Engagement Program and two of the three weeks of the extended year program.
Outcomes of this project will include increasing AI student achievement, attendance, retention and graduation rates, reducing AI student dropout, and enhancing AI family-community partnerships and involvement. Specific outcomes are listed on pages 10 and 29 of the narrative. This proposal meets the Absolute Priority, as it funds Native Youth Community Projects. It meets Competitive Preference Priority 1, as the school district is eligible under the Rural and Low-Income School program, and it meets Competitive Priority 4 through the extended school year opportunities for AI youth beyond the traditional school year. AI youth and families will have many opportunities to participate in a variety of programs and activities through this project.
This project will serve the 655 students at WS K-8, the only school on the reservation, and their extended family members, of whom we have not taken a count. Approximately 5,000 people live on the reservation. Most Family Engagement Programs, classes and extended school year activities will take place at WS K-8, and some may take place elsewhere on the reservation. The Freshman Summer Bridge program, a part of the Ishumax Kadux Program but funded by a different grant, takes place primarily at Madras High School. All sites are in Oregon. This project focuses on students from kindergarten to 8th grade, helping them identify careers that interest them, become ready for college and careers, and prepare for academic success.

Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians PR#S299A180028 (WI) ($962,564)

Purpose and Outcomes: The purpose of the Ganawenjigejig Charter School Project is to prepare native youth from the Lac Courte Oreilles community for college and career success by launching the first tribally-authorized tribally-controlled green charter school of its kind in Wisconsin. By the end of the fourth project year, Ganawenjigejig Charter School will achieve an enrollment of 100 native students in grades 6-12 and a) successfully matriculate ≥95 percent of transitioning middle school students into high school, b) successfully matriculate ≥90% of transitioning high school students into college, c) successfully matriculate ≥50 percent of junior and senior students with 2 or more high school credits and 6 or more college credits in STEM-related curriculum with grades of “B” or higher, d) achieve average increases of 1 or more points on ACT college entrance exams in each core subject every year until average class scores of graduating seniors meet or exceed ACT readiness benchmarks predictive of college success, and e) successfully enroll ≥60 percent of graduating seniors in fully-accredited colleges and universities as documented by student records. Competitive Preference Priority 1: The local community to be served is the attendance area of the LCO Ojibwa (Ojibwe) School classified as Rural: Distant (Code 42) by NCES. Competitive Preference Priority 2: Lead applicant is the Lake Superior Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). Competitive Preference Priority 4: All participants are Indian students who will have increased access to educational choice by enrolling in a high-quality personalized path for learning through this public Charter School Project. Number of Participants to be served: The total number to be served will be 100. Project Site: The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation where Ganawenjigejig Charter School will be a school-within-a-school. Two workbased partners are LCO Conservation Department and the Great Lakes Intertribal Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLFWC). Both will be practicum sites throughout the grant period which participating students will visit weekly throughout the program follow the CTE Blueprint. GLIFWC currently offers 15 internships in environmentally related fields which our students will be able to access. The combined professional workforce in the natural resources sector is 75, yet only half (37) are native. Each follows Indian first hiring practices which increase the chances that our successful completers will secure employment. Each has submitted a letter of support. Indian Tribe Involved. The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe) is the applicant and only tribe involved.

Lincoln Public Schools PR# S299A180017 (NE) ($499,861)

Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) and its tribal partners, the Santee Sioux Nation and Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, will implement the Native Youth College and Career Readiness Program to assist the approximately 600 Native American students (K-12) served by LPS develop the skills, knowledge and self-awareness necessary to be ready for life after high school. The overarching goal is college and career readiness for LPS Native American students, and will be achieved by meeting the objectives of reduced absences, increased perception of school environment, increased reading proficiency, decreased suspensions and expulsions, and increased graduation rate. LPS will also address Competitive Preference Priority 4, to increase access to educational choice through the district’s Career Academy, Science/Zoo School and Arts & Humanities Focus Program. The Santee Sioux Nation’s Society of Care mental health program provides therapy to tribes across Nebraska using Native American therapists, and will expand their services to include LPS students using telehealth resources during the school day. Therapists will also provide professional development to therapists and school social workers and counselors on cultural competency and historical trauma so they can be more effective in their work. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska will provide career exploration services through their Professional Enrichment Program to LPS students. Both tribes will participate on a Partnership Advisory Council to oversee all grant activities collaboratively. Other project activities will include mentoring and tutoring provided by teachers, development of a Native Youth Leadership Council, a reading program and advocacy for elementary Native American students, professional development for new and tenured teachers, and the addition of a Cultural Specialist to help create a more welcoming culture in all LPS buildings.

Little Wound School Board, Inc. PR# S299A180014 (SD) ($840,855)

Families Learning Together –> Little Wound School Little Wound School District and the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) are applying as partners on behalf of Little Wound School (LWS), a P.L.100-297 tribal school, for a Native Youth Community Project (NYCP) grant. LWS is a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funded school with a locale code of 43 as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, located at the center of the Pine Ridge Reservation in the southwest corner of South Dakota. The lead partner, Oglala Sioux Tribe, is an eligible Indian tribe. The Pine Ridge Reservation is located within a federal Promise Zone. The project meets the absolute priority to fund Native Youth Community Projects and expects to serve 300+ families in the Pine Ridge communities of Kyle, Martin, Allen Wanblee, Porcupine, Wounded Knee/Manderson, and Batesland, the seven districts served by Little Wound School. Families Learning Together is built from the barriers that face LWS students and families today and include: societal barriers such as isolated communities and poverty; educational barriers such as distance to educational services and limited access to books; school attendance; and family engagement barriers, such as access to family events and interactions with schools. These barriers result in disengaged families, poor school attendance, and low test scores and graduation rates. The project proposes the following goals and expected outcomes to achieve college and career readiness for all Indian children:
Goal 1. Increase home, school, and community family engagement efforts across the districts to support children’s reading attainment and overall academic achievement. Outcomes include increasing the number of family workshops that focus on academic and reading achievement; increasing parent-child interactions around reading and academic achievement; improving communication between schools and families; increasing partnerships within districts. Goal 2. Increase attendance for children kindergarten through third grade. Outcomes are focused on increased efforts of outreach to families of children with poor attendance; engaging more families with attendance issues and importance of seeing that children get to school; increasing individual student attendance; meeting or exceeding the annual goal of 90 percent attendance as measured by the Native American Student Information System (NASIS). Goal 3. Improve reading scores so that all children will read independently by the third grade. Outcomes include increasing family engagement with books and using reading strategies at home; increasing by 20 percent the number of students who test Proficient/Advanced on Smarter Balanced for 3rd grade reading; increasing by 15 percent the number of students whose RIT growth is above expected grade level growth using NWEA MAP in reading. The project proposes to meet the goals and objectives of the project via the following strategies, which are detailed in the project design: 1) Staff capacity and outreach into the districts to plan, promote, and engage families will include a home-school-community model. 2) Family engagement activities/events in district communities will focus on student reading attainment, academic achievement, and school choice, 3) Parents and community members will have opportunities to participate in leadership positions on school improvement teams and advisory on district Parent Learning Communities (PLCs), 4) Outreach by home/school liaisons to families with poor school attendance to address barriers and identify solutions, 5) Share resources with parents on the importance of school attendance and the relationship to reading and academic achievement, 6) Children and families will have access to print books and digital reading material and will choose to read independently, 7) Teachers and Family Partnership Liaisons will have increased access to literacy professional development and coaching, and will implement research-based literacy strategies.

Lumbee Land Development, Inc. PR# S299A180037 (NC) ($841,151)

A consortium, led by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and involving the Public Schools of Robeson County, Robeson County Community College, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, seeks to improve the college and career preparedness of American Indian youth and tribal community engagement in the Lumbee Tribal Service Area (LTSA). The project’s supporting partners are Cumberland County Schools, Hoke County Schools, Scotland County Schools, North Carolina Community College BioNetwork, the Morehead Planetarium at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell Soup of Maxton, Robeson Technical Works, and North Carolina State University’s Science House. Project 3C’s goal is to provide 3,538 American Indian students with experiences and skills necessary to: develop their self-efficacy; increase congruence between their interests and career choices; and, broaden their college and career opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Families and tribal communities will also be empowered to provide a supportive and informed environment that promotes student choice, success, and career exploration. To achieve this proposed outcome, Project 3C seeks to attain three (3) goals by the end of Year 4 of the grant. Those goals are: 1) create a STEM College, for 878 American Indian elementary, middle, and high school students in the LTSA, that will provide them with integrated year-round STEM and career-focused academic, career, and cultural enrichment activities essential for continuing their education and entering the workforce; 2) promote STEM awareness and college and career exploration to 400 American Indian students and their parents and family members through hands-on activities and community events; and, 3) remove pedagogical, academic, curricular, and financial barriers to American Indian student success in STEM courses for 2,200 American Indian high school students. The proposed project meets the absolute priority and competitive preference priorities 1, 2 and 4. The absolute priority and priority four will be met when American Indian youth are empowered to choose STEM academic majors and which career fields to explore. The Lumbee Tribe, as the lead applicant, meets Competitive Preference Priority 2. The public schools of Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson, and Scotland counties are eligible LEAs under the Rural and Low-income School Program (Competitive Preference Priority 1).
Project 3C initiatives will be occur within the geographic territory of the LTSA, which is defined as Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson, and Scotland counties in Southeastern North Carolina. Project activities will also occur at all of the Lumbee Tribe’s facilities, including the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, 10 tribal community centers, and 7 Boys and Girls Clubs. Activities will also be provided on the campuses of Robeson Community Campus, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and the Public Schools of Robeson County’s Career and Technical Education Center. Other events will be held at public school sites managed by the Cumberland County Schools, Hoke County Schools, Scotland County Schools, and the Public Schools of Robeson County.

Magdalena Municipal School PR# S299A180013 (NM) ($485,897)

The Alamo-Magdalena Navajo Youth Project is a community partnership among the Magdalena Municipal School District, Alamo Navajo School Board Inc. Early Childhood Center and the Alamo Chapter Tribal Council, in a coordinated effort to address the in-and out-of-school barriers for college and career success for the Alamo Navajo youth. The partnership created for this project are historical and aims to build capacity between the Alamo and Magdalena communities to identify specific barriers for college and career success and work together, using community-based strategies, to improve opportunities for our Navajo youth. The project begins with the Navajo children in both community schools’ preschool programs with a goal to provide high quality preschool programming to increase the number of Navajo students who are proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade. The preschool focus is further coordinated with other community agencies through the Alamo-Magdalena Early Childhood Coalition, which is founded on the basis of informing systemic change in local communities to address identified and regionally specific issue and challenges. Next, the project focuses on academic and social/emotional specific to the unique needs of the Navajo students. This includes the implementation of AVID, a research-based college and career readiness program, across the entire Magdalena Municipal School District, an Interventionist/Special Educator and additional Educational Assistants to work with students in the early grades to decrease the achievement gap, a Career Technical Educator to provide expanded CTE offerings for Navajo males at the middle and high school, and an additional College and Career Counselor/Social Worker to provide additional supports for the Navajo students across the district.

NACA Inspired Schools Network PR# S299A180041 (NM)($888,465)

Project Abstract Project Title: NACA-Inspired Schools Network Partners: Tribal Organization: NACA Inspired Schools Network (NISN); LEAs: Dream Diné Charter School, Dzil Ditl’ooi School of Empowerment, Action and Perseverance (DEAP), Kha’p’o Community School, Six Directions Indigenous School; Tribes: Santa Clara Pueblo, Pueblo of Zia (with T’siya Day School), and Pueblo of Jemez. Purpose: Establishing schools in northwest New Mexico that provide culturally-relevant college-preparatory programs and rigorous academics in areas that serve significant Indian student populations. NISN establishes schools that reflect the needs of tribal communities. Goals: Goal 1: Increase College and career readiness for Native American students in Northwest NM. (Objective 1: Grow four schools; Launch three new schools; Objective 2: Collectively serve an anticipated 635 students over the grant period; Objective 3: Schools outperform peers.) Goal 2: Increase educational choice through adding schools that are reflective of Native American culture and learning styles, and of community needs and desires for education. (Objective 1: Engage at least 50 community members in each community annually; Objective 2: 90 percent of families will rate the school responsive to holistic needs, measured by an annual survey.) Expected Outcomes and Contributions: Create educational choice by expanding the NISN network, support college and career readiness in network schools, create an Indigenous educator pipeline, develop a model of a grant school, and work toward tribal school authorization. Defined Local Geographical Area Served: Northwest New Mexico

National Indian Education PR# S299A180023 (DC) ($628,926)

The Tribal Communities in Schools (TCIS) project, which will be led by the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) in partnership with Communities In Schools of Mid-America, Inc., will serve up to 1,069 tribal students in the Anadarko Public Schools with support from the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma as indicated in their Tribal Resolution #WT-18-122. This designates this project as meeting the absolute priority. Additionally, because the Anadarko Public School district, whose student body is 62% Native, is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as Rural and Low-Income Schools (RLIS), this project also meets Competitive Priority One. Finally, because the NIEA is designated as an Indian Organization, we meet Competitive Priority Two. The goal of the TCIS Project is to improve outcomes for Native students by implementing a community-wide integrated student support (ISS) approach that provides academic, social, and other supports in order to ensure college and career readiness, and lifelong success. The five main activities of the evidence-based approach that will be implemented by the TCIS project are as follows: Step 1-Needs Assessment: Students within the school district are categorized based on level of need, from Tier I to Tier III with those students in Tier III having the direst circumstances. Step 2-Support Identification: School-based Site Coordinators identify broad based supports for Tier 1 students and individualized supports for Tier II and Tier III students.
Step 3-Integrated Student Supports: Site Coordinators implement student supports during this step and serve as the conduits to provision needed services to the varying tiers of students. Step 4-Monitoring and Adjusting: Site Coordinators, with input from school staff, parents, and the tribal education staff, review the ISS implementation, assess overall performance and adjust as needed to ensure that all student needs across all tiers are being met.
Step 5-Evalutation: Site Coordinators measure outcomes against those designated in the ISS model This model will be implemented throughout the 5 sites within the Anadarko Public School district, all of which are located within the city of Anadarko, OK whose population is majority Native American. Anadarko is located in Caddo County, Oklahoma and is about fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. By employing this model, the TCIS Project will meet its goal through the following two objectives: Objective 1: Improve Students’ Overall Academic Performance. Target outcomes are: 70% of students tracked for needing to improve their academic achievement successfully bring up their grades at least 10% each year; 85% of students receiving Tier II or III services will be promoted to the next grade, and 85% of seniors receiving Tier II or III services will graduate. Objective 2: Improve Students’ Personal and Life Skills. Target outcomes are: 70% of students tracked for needing to improve their behavior meet their improvement goals; • 70% of students tracked for needing to improve their attendance successfully increase their attendance rates; • 80% of students tracked as potential dropouts remain in school, and students receiving TCIS services who progress to secondary school increases by 25% each year.

Niobrara Public Schools PR# S299A180034 (NE) ($727,755)

The Niobrara Public School’s Cultural Awareness Through Education Program is named for the theme of this project which is to connect struggling American Indian children with their cultural roots to support a behavioral and mental health crisis that is preventing students from being successful academically. Only when the crisis is addressed can real learning and opportunities expand for the American Indian students of the region. In partnership with the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, NCATE will serve well over 100 American Indian Gr. PK-12 students in the Niobrara community, Niobrara Public Schools, and greater Knox county region in northeast Nebraska. The program serves students from Nebraska’s “forgotten” tribe, The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. With reservation land in Oklahoma, the Ponca tribe maintains a very active presence in their original home lands of Nebraska and Iowa with their home office located in Niobrara. Located directly across the river from the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota and only nine miles from the Santee Indian Reservation, this district is a multi-cultural hub for students and families with several tribal affiliations and connections. NCATE meets the Absolute Priority through its focus on ensuring Indian students from a defined geographic area are prepared for college and careers. This will be achieved by implementing evidenced-based and data-informed procedures that best prepare American Indian (AI) students to successfully transition from elementary and middle school to high school, graduate high school and then on to college or career. NCATE’s community-based strategies will address barriers to success and help students and families take advantage of opportunities provided by the tribes, local colleges and business. The proposal includes measurable objectives that will be monitored over four years and acted upon by our leadership team and the partnering tribes, organizations and schools. The program offers means to sustain key components. NCATE meets Competitive Preference Priority (CPP) 1 by including eight SRSA and RLIS districts. NCATE meets CPP 4 by providing families support and counseling. Through its evidence-based design and its adherence to best practices NCATE has the potential to be suitable for replication or testing in other settings.
NCATE, Objectives and Performance Measures Goal 1: Collaborate with existing tribal resources and programs to support the multi-tiered framework to increase cultural awareness throughout the district. Goal 2: Provide tiered mental health and behavioral supports and activities to all students as determined by level of their needs. Goal 3: To decrease the number of student referrals and suspensions by 40 percent over four years. Goal 4: Increase access to post-secondary prep and programming over four years.
Goal 5: Develop a sustainable program that serves the needs of our American Indian students.

Oklahoma State Department of Education PR# S299A180005 (OK) ($998,743)

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is applying for funding under the Absolute Priority and four Competitive Preference Priorities in accordance with 34 CFR 75.105 by implementing a Native Youth Community Project that is centered on the goal of ensuring that Indian students are prepared for college and careers. The project will seek to implement college and career readiness activities for 886 Native American students each year of the project enrolled in the four districts in grades 9-12. The project will initiate activities such as college readiness educational activities including concurrent and Advanced Placement coursework, a focus on math and science course rigor, college visits, individual college/career academic plans, scholarship/FAFSA completion, tutoring and mentoring programs, college application exercises, a summer native student institute, an annual state Native Student Leadership Summit, college and career exploration opportunities and extensive professional development for teachers. Partners in the proposed project include all four participating school districts, the Oklahoma Arts Council, Tulsa STEM Alliance, New Teacher Project, University of Oklahoma K20 Center, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, American Institute of Mathematics, and Oklahoma Mesonet. Objectives for the project include increasing high school graduation rates, increasing college enrollment and persistence rates, increasing concurrent and Advanced Placement enrollment rates, increase scholarship funds received by participating students, and increasing college course preparedness.

Phoenix Indian Center PR# S299A180043 (AZ) ($621,517)

The Forward Promise College and Career Readiness program continues to address critical and well-documented needs in our community. Urban-living American Indian (AI) students face a variety of opportunities and challenges as they matriculate from elementary to secondary school and beyond. Factors related to progression include academic or school-based issues and many out-of-school or social issues along issues of belonging due to lack of cultural knowledge and activity. The chart below highlights components for AI youth that are addressed by Forward Promise – A College and Career Readiness Program.

subjectdescription

College and Career Readiness	Student persistence, motivation, career exploration, skill building for college application processes, job readiness, cultural connections
Family/ Support	Poverty, ATOD use and abuse, health/wellness, parental involvement/support; risk/protective factors, ready access to support services, transportation; school choice
Culture and Leadership	Cultural awareness and knowledge, high mobility rates, culture as prevention, risk/protective factors, a sense of belongingness
Community Partnership	Collaborative reach/capacity, interagency communication, and planning together as a community

This project addresses all mandatory requirements and meets two competitive preference priorities (1) Competitive Preference Priority 2- a partnership or consortium in which the lead applicant or a partner has received a grant I the last 4 years for one or more of these programs. Phoenix Indian Center received NYCP funding in 2015 and is an Indian Organization and (2) Competitive Preference Priority 4- Empowering families and individuals to choose a high-quality education that meets their unique needs. The program will host community forums on school choice, the variance process and Arizona’s voucher system. The project will serve 200 American Indian high school youth living in the Phoenix metropolitan area and attending the Phoenix Union High School District. Through the implementation of Career Ready by Signal Success Curriculum, youth will be ready to successfully find employment. Comfortability towards higher education will occur through skill building workshops and technical assistance for applying to college/trade school and FASFA. Partner LEA, Phoenix Union High School District is open to discussion of difficult issues including a look at policy and feasibility of a boutique school. Tribal partner, Navajo Nation and their Department of Education is poised to provide teacher training and cultural enrichment for youth. Lastly, community partners will provide access to needed social services for the families, supporting needs creating the ability for youth to focus on education and life after high school. Individually, the program organizations have all worked for decades to improve the lives of American Indian youth. Using a community-driven, comprehensive, wrap-around approach, the program helps our students become college- and career-ready and prepares them to be future community leaders. Through the youth council, the youth will have a voice in the program and parents will be involved as well through the parent advisory council and community sessions. Overall activities will be designed that focus on school retention activities, career training and job readiness skill building, leadership opportunities, and participant and teacher cultural identity (awareness and values). Expected outcomes are increased graduation rates, student placement in post-secondary education and training and employment, empowered young community leaders—all through a network of collaborative community partners.

Pribilof Islands Aleut Community of St. Paul Island PR# 299A180054 (AK) ($527,647)

Applicants Name: The Pribilof Islands Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government (ACSPI) Project Title: “Building the House of Knowledge”: Preparation for and Direct Access to Post Secondary and Vocational Education.
Purpose and Expected Outcomes: ACSPI will use this funding to strengthen readiness for and to expand post-secondary education and vocational opportunity for students (K-12) on St. Paul Island. This proposal would include: developing a High School (K-8) Preparation Program for a Successful Student Transition to High School, developing an Early College and Career Training and Preparation Program for a Successful Student Transition from High School to and Completion of Post-Secondary Learning and/or Workforce Opportunities, and Establishing and Developing a Community-Based, Culturally Appropriate Learning Center to Provide for Social and Academic Behavioral Growth. Culturally specific programs, curriculum and supports will be developed to bridge the gap between Western models and ancient ways of knowing, enhancing student navigation of the educational process for our predominantly Alaska Native/Aleut (Unangan) community. Expected outcomes will be an increase in current levels of enrollment and degree completion in post-secondary or vocational programs, an impact on the local economy, demonstrated by documenting the number of individuals entering the workforce after completing a degree or certification program, and an increase in student achievement, documented through a comparative analysis of pre and post test scores, rate of course completion and student and community feedback. Applicable Priorities: Native Youth Community Project, Competitive Preference Priority 1: U.S. Census locale code 43, Competitive Preference Priority 2: Indian Tribe is the lead applicant, Competitive Preference Priority 4: Empowering Families and Individuals to Choose a High-Quality Education that meets their needs. Number of Participants Served: The total population is 479 (Census 2010); a traditionally underserved rural population; 417 (87.1%) are all or part Aleut (Alaska Native). 59 Alaska Native Unangnan students (K-12) will directly benefit from the program while many in the community will access services, support and education through the learning center. We anticipate 53 adult students to enroll in the campus over the initial 4-year period.
Number and Location of Proposed Sites: One (1) site: ACSPI will leverage its partnerships with the University of Alaska, Bristol Bay Campus (BBC) and the Pribilof School District (PSD) to create a single, central BBC college campus and administrative capacity within the St. Paul School. ACSPI and its partners will create a single, central hub Campus Learning center within the PSD on St. Paul Island, AK. How the Project will Conduct Activities to Assist Participants in Identifying and Securing Qualifying Employment: ACSPI will provide active and ongoing case management and career counseling for students which identifies their educational and employment goals. The ACSPI case manager will work directly with students to help them access resources, track and document the steps necessary to achieve career and employment goals, and help students identify and apply for employment and access educational or career opportunities. The Indian Tribe Involved in the Project: The Pribilof Island Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, a federally registered Alaska Native tribe.

Saint Mary’s City School District PR# S299A180024 (AK) ($693,257)

The City of Saint Mary’s encompasses the Yup’ik villages of Algaaciq Native Village and Yupiit of Andreafski located within the rural Yukon Delta National Wildlife Preserve. It is a rural remote area (designated as 43) with the only access to the village being by plane or barge (in the summer). The population in the area is approximately 550 people. A federally recognized tribe is located in the community –> the Algaaciq Alaskan Native Tribe, a partner in the grant application. Saint Mary’s City School District (SMCSD) consists of two schools adjacent to each other serving 200 students in grades pre-k-12 located in Saint Mary’s City, Alaska. The percent of Alaska Native students is 99 percent
SMCSD meets the Absolute Priority by applying as a partnership between SMCSD and the Algaaciq Tribal government to implement a Native youth community project. We meet competitive priority 1 as we are eligible and have received a small rural achievement grant. We meet competitive priority 3 as we received an Alaska Native Education grant within the past 4 years and competitive priority 4 as we will be increasing access to educational choice. Academically there is a gap between our students and the state average on the percent of students meeting state standards. Kindergarten readiness on the AK Developmental profile in communication and language is below the state average also. Our goals in the project are to improve academic achievement, to increase college and career readiness and to provide culturally responsive educational activities so students learn more about the Yup’ik culture and language. We plan to do this in the framework of addressing a community need which is determining the impact of climate change on subsistence activities. Students along with school staff and tribal elders will conduct field studies of things such as snow melt, changing vegetation patterns and water quality. We will utilize the evidence-based project based learning where students incorporate all academic skills into the project. Weather and forest consultants will assist us and also provide exposure for the students in STEM fields.
Services provided will include college and career readiness activities such as developing a postsecondary plan, counseling, college visits, test preparation, and career exploration. The counselor will monitor progress towards graduation and we will offer web-based credit recovery opportunities. Another important area to address is academic support with academic tutoring, summer school and benchmark testing to target instruction. The small size of our school has limited course options especially courses that would help students be college ready. We propose to increase educational choice through web-based advanced course opportunities, computer science, CTE and college credit courses.
At the preschool level, we will increase support to the preschool class by adding paraprofessionals and a literacy specialist who will work with the teacher on programs and strategies to increase literacy skills. The literacy specialist will also support teachers in the school with how to improve literacy skills.
It is important that our students learn more about their culture and Yup’ik language and we will utilize a Yup’ik Curriculum and Language Specialist who will work closely with tribal elders to provide professional development for faculty, teach the Yup’ik language to students and together with Yup’ik skills specialists teach cultural skills. Some of these lessons will occur in the field trips to study climate change and subsistence skills. Anticipated outcomes include improved academic performance, increased college and career readiness, increased pre-school readiness, and increased knowledge of the Yup’ik language and skills as well as increased knowledge about the impact of climate change on our environment.

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community Schools PR# S299A180036 (WI) ($878,662)

Purpose and Expected Outcomes: Salt River Schools Literacy for All program’s purpose is to develop the skills and habits needed for our youth to determine their own destinies and access a full range of choices in pursuit of higher education and careers. The projected outcomes will be: 1) an increase in the cumulative number of college applications and/or scholarship applications completed by SRMPIC students; 2) an increase in the percentage of PreK-12 students who meet or exceed NWEA proficiency standards; 3) increased access to local, culturally relevant books throughout the community; and 4) increased awareness and appreciation of literacy as a cornerstone of autonomy, self-determination, and school success. Applicable Priorities: This project meets the absolute priority by engaging with community partners with evidence-based strategies to address identified barriers to college and career readiness for Salt River Pima-Maricopa youth. Salt River Schools is the TEA and also the lead LEA, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community Schools, which includes Salt River High School and the Salt River Accelerated Learning Academy. Salt River Elementary School (BIE-funded, tribally operated school) is considered a second LEA; and the Early Childhood Education Center is also a part of SRS. Partners include Tribal agencies, Scottsdale Community College, East Valley Institute of Technology, Mesa Unified School District, Southwest Human Development, and First One Hundred Institute. Defined Geographic Area, Number of Participants and Sites: The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is a sovereign tribe located in the metropolitan Phoenix area, comprised of two Native American tribes, the O’odham and the Piipaash. There are over 9,000 enrolled tribal members; 380 families with children ages birth-six live in the Community, 900 students attend Community schools, including the Early Childhood Education Center, and 1,209 attend other schools. Salt River Schools TEA is eligible for SRSA funds, (Competitive Preference Priorities One and Two); and the program will serve SRPMIC students who attend SR Schools, Mesa Unified School district, and other charter and private schools (Competitive Preference Priority Four). Barriers, Goals and Activities: Salt River students face barriers common among many American Indian populations, including low academic achievement rates, high dropout rates, books scarcity and inadequate levels of family and community engagement with education and literacy. Literacy for All builds on existing, evidence-based curricula and career programs and capitalizes on collaborations with community partners to achieve four goals: 1) empower students to explore diverse career opportunities and develop applicable skill sets, 2) educate families and provide home libraries to develop a daily, self-determined habit of reading with their children, 3) engage Tribal members to create locally relevant books and 4) conduct a literacy campaign that also employs youth to develop workforce skills. The program will employ a Project Manager, a Career Guide, and a Community Literacy Advocate to implement Service Learning Projects; oversee book distribution and literacy training for parents, Early Childhood and K-12 teachers; conduct Writers Group to create and publish locally created and narrated picture books; and manage student-led literacy campaigns. Community Literacy Champions (high school students) will be employed to staff summer reading programs and work on the literacy campaign. The long-term impact of Literacy for All will be that our children, supported by their families, school, and community, will transition into school ready to achieve to their highest potentials and ultimately experience more educational success (including higher graduation rates), higher levels of employability, and the benefits of lifelong, autonomous learning. It is also expected that the culture of literacy will spread, improving opportunities and revitalizing culture, language, and self-determination throughout the community.

San Carlos Apache Tribe PR# S299A180029 (AZ) ($905,028)

The Goal of the Success Through Education Program is to prepare San Carlos Apache students so they master the Arizona Academic Standards; are prepared for, enroll, and succeed in post-secondary educational programs; and apply their learning both in their studies and to everyday life so they are personally and academically prepared for the 21st century. The objectives and related outcomes and benchmarks are aligned with the national goals and objectives. Number of students to be served: 1,064 junior high and high school students who are members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. List of Partners: San Carlos Unified School District, Fort Thomas Unified School District; Apache College; Tribal Education Department, WIOA, Language and Culture; and community and business partners AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute, SWECA Inc. The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation is located in east central Arizona, 110 miles east of Phoenix. Over 2,700 San Carlos Apache children and youth are enrolled in elementary and high schools However, less than 45percent of San Carlos Apache High school graduates continue onto post-secondary studies which is 23percent below the state average; less than 3percent of these students will graduate from college. The project is designed to address the needs of our students and incorporates the Competitive Preference Priorities which include educational choice by empowering families and students to choose a high-quality education that meets their unique needs. San Carlos Apache Tribe will implement four levels of interventions:
1. Development of Career Identity. Interventions include mentoring, career awareness presentations, activities, job shadowing, internships, college and industry tours, college bridge programs. 2. Academic Preparation that include WWC programs that have moderate evidence of effectiveness through after school and summer classes, tutoring, enrichment courses and programs, academic assistance and planning. Major attention will focus on monitoring student progress, brokering services from the schools and community and providing youth with extended learning and college/career awareness activities. PTC also supports educational reforms that include professional development, college bride programs, and the innovative MetroMatematicas and Six Sigma curriculums. 3. Development of Resiliency interventions through increased counseling and counselor training, developing youth leadership & mentoring programs, providing college awareness & visits, and Financial Planning. Given the significant number of college dropouts, the program also provides academic support and counseling during year seven of the project. 4. College and Career Planning. Development of a Personalized Educational College and Career Academic Plan for each student that incorporates choice by empowering families and students to choose a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.

Santa Ynez Bank of Mission Indians PR# S299A180002 (CA) ($131,580)

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians College and Career Initiative (CCI) will prepare 100 American Indian students for academic and career attainment. By increasing academic competencies in challenging subject matter, including math and science, and guiding Chumash youth in grades TK-12 through evidence-based pathways, students will graduate high school with 21st century skills – ready for college and career. CCI will accelerate efforts to narrow the achievement gap for Chumash students affiliated with the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation. As a demonstration project, evaluation results will contribute to original research on American Indian education, policy formulation, and promising practices. CCI addresses Absolute Priority: Native Youth Community Projects. CCI is (1) Focused on a defined local geographic area surrounding the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation; (2) Centered on the goal of ensuring that Indian students are prepared for college and careers; (3) Informed by evidence, from a needs assessment conducted in 2017 and data analysis, on—(i) The greatest barriers, both in and out of school, to the readiness of local Chumash students for college and careers; (ii) Opportunities in the local community to support Indian students; and (iii) Existing local policies, programs, practices, service providers, and funding sources; (4) Focused on one or more barriers or opportunities with a community-based strategy and measurable objectives; (5) Designed and implemented through a partnership of various entities, which—(i) Must include—(A) One or more Tribes (Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians); and (B) One or more local educational agencies (LEAs); and (6) Led by an entity (Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians) that—(i) Is eligible for a grant under the Demonstration Grants for Indian Children program; and (ii) Demonstrates the capacity to improve outcomes that are relevant to the project focus through experience with programs funded through other sources. Goal: All participating students (grades TK-12) will advance with measured skills in challenging subject matters to the next grade, postsecondary education, and career. Objective 1.1- Offer academic, college, and career preparatory services to at least 100 unduplicated Chumash students (grades TK-12) and their families (an average of 25 students each of the four academic years from 2018-2022) to enable successful transition from TK through high school into college and career. Objective 1.2- Provide individualized academic support to at least 100 unduplicated Chumash students (grades TK-12) (an average of 25 students each of the four academic years from 2016-2020) to increase academic competency and skills in core subject matters, including Language Arts, Math, and Science. Outcomes: At least 70 percent of participants enrolled in TK through 12th grade will meet or exceed performance standards (grade promotion, portfolios, report cards, standardized tests) in Language Arts, Math, and Science. At least 80 percent of eligible high school graduates served in the target group will successfully enroll in a college or university in the semester following graduation or become employed. Number and location of proposed sites: The Learning Center on the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation, up to 100 student homes, one elementary school district, one high school district, and two public libraries in Santa Barbara County.

Southeast Island School District PR# S299A180022 (AK) ($499,315)

Project Abstract – Teaching Harmonious Resiliency for Virtually Every situation (THRIVE) Location: The project includes Southeast Island School District (SISD), Klawock City School District (KCSD), and Hydaburg City School District (HCSD) covering 12,150 square miles on and around Prince of Wales Island (POW) in southeast Alaska. Partners: Klawock Cooperative Association and Brightways Learning. SISD/KCSD/HCSD and Partners seek to create a systemic, sustainable change for Native youth by addressing Career and Post-Secondary Educational needs for students in grades K – 12. Purpose and Expected outcomes: Goal 1: Increase Student Achievement 1.1 – Students will show an increase of 10% each year of the grant in the Alaska state test, Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS). 1.2 – 5 percent of students will show overall improvement in grades, between 1st quarter and 4th quarter each year of the grant. Goal 2: Increase Graduation Rates
2.1 – Students will show a 5 percent improvement in non-cognitive data for each year of the grant (attendance, behavior, engagement). 2.2 – 10 percent increase for each year of the grant in students graduating with a high school diploma in four years. Goal 3: Improve Student College/Career exploration opportunities 3.1 –Surveyed students will show a 10 percent gain each year of the grant in number of adults significantly connected in their lives.
3.2 – 80 percent of targeted students will participate in a College/Career exploration opportunity. Applicable priorities: Competitive Preference Priority 1: All school districts involved serve rural Alaskan communities. Competitive Preference Priority 4: All school districts involved will increase access to educational choice for Native youth with dual credit options, career and post-secondary exploration. Number of participants to be served: THRIVE will provide services to 200 Alaska Native and 400 total students in the three districts. Number and location of proposed sites: Hollis, Coffman Cove, Naukati, Thorne Bay, Whale Pass, Port Alexander, Hyder, Alaska. (SISD), Klawock, Alaska (KCSD), and Hydaburg, Alaska (HCSD). All sites are located on POW except Hyder, located on the mainland at the Alaskan-Canadian border, and Port Alexander, located on the southern tip of Baranof Island. How the project will conduct activities to assist participants in identifying and securing qualifying employment: THRIVE will include provisions that promote Early College High Schools (ECHSs) as a college and career readiness pathway, opportunity for dual credit courses, College and Career Readiness Institutes, and Educational Choice Activities. The Indian tribes involved in the project: The tribes included in the project are: Klawock Cooperative Association, Hydaburg Cooperative Association, and the Organized Village of Kasaan.

Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation PR# S299A180055 (WA) ($813,830)

Spokane Tribe Native Youth Community Project The Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Wellpinit School District will partner to implement a project targeting elementary and secondary students from the Spokane Tribe and attending Wellpinit schools. The Spokane Tribe will serve as the applicant and lead partner. The project will serve the Spokane Indian Reservation, located about 40 miles northwest of Spokane in Eastern Washington, The Reservation covers 159,000 acres. More than 2,100 people reside on the Reservation. This includes 1,660 American Indians with about 1,430 being members of the Spokane Tribe. Based upon an assessment of community needs and assets, this project identified several barriers and opportunities to address. The first barrier to students’ college and career readiness is their inadequate academic performance. The second barrier related to the lack of kindergarten readiness of children from the Spokane Tribe. The third barrier involves at-risk behaviors of Spokane Tribe children and youth related to mental health issues and their social/emotional development. The fourth barrier relates to students’ school attendance, particularly their unexcused absentee rates, chronic absentee rates, and chronic tardiness to class. In addition to the barriers, the project has identified several opportunities for addressing the identified barriers. The most significant opportunity is the existing positive working relationship between the Spokane Tribe and the Wellpinit School District. A second opportunity relates to state legislation requiring teaching of tribal history in the public schools and a state tribal history curriculum to help meet this requirement. These policies and resources provide a strong impetus and foundation for curriculum development efforts on the Spokane Reservation. A third opportunity is represented by several universities, colleges, and community colleges in the region that have previously worked with either the Spokane Tribe or Wellpinit School District (or both organizations) and can provide resources and expertise in helping to address the identified barriers. In addressing these barriers and taking advantage of these opportunities, this project will seek to achieve three goals during the next four years: Goal #1: Improve the academic performance Spokane Tribe children and youth in elementary and secondary school.
Goal #2: Increase the school readiness of Spokane Tribe Children entering kindergarten. Goal #3: Increase student attendance and improve the school engagement of Spokane Tribe children and youth in Wellpinit elementary and secondary schools. To achieve these goals, the project has identified seven strategies: Strategy 1: Support Wellpinit elementary and secondary school teachers to incorporate effective, research-based, culturally responsive teaching practices into their teaching Strategy 2: Implement a new program model that will promote more student-centered learning opportunities for secondary school students Strategy 3: Expand out-of-school learning opportunities for elementary and secondary students Strategy 4: Provide a transition program for students entering kindergarten Strategy 5: Develop, pilot, and implement a Spokane Tribe History and Culture curriculum in all elementary and secondary grades Strategy 6: Expand and coordinate family information, engagement and parenting programs in the community
Strategy 7: Expand social-emotional development and group counseling programs to support the development of the whole child.

Turtle Mountain Community College PR# S299A180032 (ND) ($597,608)

Project SHELL (Strengthening Higher Expectations for Learning and Leadership) PARTNERS: The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (federally recognized Tribe and Promise Zone), Turtle Mountain Community College (eligible Tribal College), three BIE Schools (Turtle Mountain Community Middle School, Dunseith Indian Day School, and Ojibwa Indian School), and three LEAs (Dunseith, Rolette, and St. John) will partner to implement SHELL, a high-quality, comprehensive Native Youth Community Project (NYCP) to directly improve the college and career readiness of participating youth.
PURPOSE/EXPECTED OUTCOMES: Project SHELL will deliver culturally-relevant, evidence-based learning to equip youth with the knowledge and skills to improve their educational achievement and assist their readiness to confidently pursue college and careers. Native culture will be integrated throughout all aspects of Project SHELL and be a component of the leadership and community service projects. PRIORITIES: Located in an extremely rural (locale 43) Promise Zone, SHELL meets the Absolute Priority, as well as, all Competitive Preference Priorities. PARTICIPANTS: 1,000 Turtle Mountain entering 8th Grade students (250/year) and their parents/caregivers will actively participate in the comprehensive NYCP activities. GEOGRAPHIC AREA and SITES: SHELL will serve youth in the Turtle Mountain Reservation and encompassing Rolette County in North Dakota, which shares its border with Canada. The area is extremely rural (United States Census) and all partnering schools are located in this rural, remote area (locale code 43). BARRIERS: Informed by need assessment, data analysis, stakeholder discussion, and best practices to improve outcomes for Native students, SHELL will address identified barriers (lack of school success, lack of college and career-readiness, and lack of cultural integration) by i) increasing academic performance to better prepare students for success in school, college, and careers; ii) Increasing college and career training for students and their parents; and iii) integrating Native culture with education and college/career readiness activities. OPPORTUNITIES & STRATEGIES: Regularly scheduled activities, grounded in research and evidence-based strategies, will take place during the school day, after school, and the summer to support students’ school success and college and career readiness, including school day instruction/interventions, after school tutoring/learning sessions, career academies, hands-on learning with a focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) during a summer camp, and involving tribal Elders and Native role models to engage students in cultural activities. MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES: Each project year, 90 percent of students will increase academic skills as demonstrated by proficiency on appropriate state assessments; 75 percent of parents will increase their knowledge in positive practices to support student success as measured by reports of personal growth on surveys; 90 percent of students will engage in college/career readiness activities; 75 percent of parents will join in college/career training; 90 percent of students will engage in culturally-relevant learning experiences; and 90 percent of students will interact with appropriate Native role models to explore college/career options as measured by results of personal growth on annual surveys. TRIBE: The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (federally recognized Tribe and Promise Zone) is the Tribe involved in Project SHELL.

2017 NATIVE YOUTH COMMUNITY PROJECTS

1. Alaska Gateway School District (AK) $954,977
S299A170053 (PDF, 21MB)
Alaska Gateway School District and its district, tribal government and tribal organization partners will implement Project RAVE (Rural Alaska Village Entrepreneurs). Tribal partners include the Tanana Chiefs Conference, the Mentasta Traditional Council, the Native Village of Tanacross, the Native Village of Tetlin, the Northway Native Association and the Tok Native Association. The Project RAVE goals include: reducing the drop-out rate; increasing the number of students who are ready for and who attend post-secondary school; and who ultimately find local gainful employment or create their own opportunities. The majority of the career pathway courses will be delivered through blended online courses, which will be merged into the traditional classroom setting.

2. Pala Band of Mission Indians (CA) $234,537
S299A170103 (PDF, 14MB)
The Pala Band of Mission Indians proposes the Pala Little Feathers program. Three goals form the overarching basis of program objectives and activities: 1) School Readiness, where all children will start school ready to learn including  a continuous and articulated center-based program will serve  preschool-aged children, while a summer school transition component will assist in preparing preschoolers for kindergarten enrollment; 2) Parent Education and Involvement – The program will find ways to involve parents in their child’s education, resulting in their active participation in their child’s progress and being a strong advocate for the child, and 3) Teacher Education and Professional Development – Staff will have access to programs for the continued improvement of professional skills.

3.  Lummi Nation (WA) $254,191
S299A170044 (PDF, 14MB)
The Lummi Nation proposes the Lummi Marine Trades Native Youth Community Project (LMTNYCP). The purpose of the project is to build and establish a Career and Technical Education Program at Lummi Nation School that will focus on preparing students for college or a career in the marine industries- fishing, crabbing, marine engine building and boat maintenance, boat building, marine sciences and natural resources. Project goals include: 1. Increased student attendance; 2. Improved student engagement; 3. Increase in grade point average; 4. Increased family and community involvement via project-based learning projects and a Marine Trades Project.

4. Muscogee (Creek) Nation (OK) $523,506
S299A170062 (PDF, 35MB)
The overarching goal of the project is to provide college and career readiness afterschool programming opportunities for youth within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN) boundaries by the MCN Native Youth Community Project (NYCP) staff and build relationships among students, families and LEAs. Goals include: 1) All participating students will improve student achievement in core academic areas through career development strategies; 2) All participating students will show an increase in student attendance and graduation from high school utilizing a Native American designed career plan; 3) All participating students will see an increase in CC&R skills guiding them along the path of self-discovery while exploring careers and creating an individualized career plan; 4) MCN NYCP will collaborate with the Native American community to enhance academic support, educational enrichment and support services to ensure academic and career goal success; and 5) MCN NYCP will collaborate with schools and community to provide sustainable programs.

5. Ketchikan Indian Corporation (AK) $250,042
S299A170035 (PDF, 17MB)
Ketchikan Indian Community proposes the Focused Pathways Program (FPP) for up to 550 Southeast Alaska Native high school aged students. The purpose of Focused Pathways is to provide a strong “community-centric” learning environment in which student/teacher time is controlled by learning and not specified time periods within the normal educational day, freeing up student schedules for college credit courses and career and technical courses that lead to an industry credential. Goals include: 1) Increase the number of Southeast Alaska Native students who enroll in a two or four year college with at least nine college credits already completed prior to enrollment; 2) Increase the amount of completed career and technical education (CTE) courses that lead to industry recognized credentials for Southeast Alaska Native students; and 3) Increase the opportunity for Southeast Alaska Native students to access and engage in culturally meaningful educational content and local career exploration.

6. Terrebonne Parish School Board (LA) $796,914
S299A170056 (PDF, 22MB)
Terrebonne Parish School Board proposes the project On Travaille Ensemble, in collaborations with United Houma Nation, the Point-Au-Chien Indian Tribe, the Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogee Indians, the Louisiana Indian Education Association, Fletcher Technical Community College, Nicholls State University and the Houma-Terrebone Chamber of Commerce. The goal of the project is to improve the college and career readiness of American Indian students. The program has three objectives: 1) improve the academic behavior of the participating middle school students; 2) increase the number of Indian students who become successfully enter 9th grade for the first time; and 3) increase community involvement efforts that promote the college and career readiness of Indian children. Community strategies shall include partners and tribes working together to provide mentors, meetings spaces and wisdom and knowledge to participants.

7. Cook Inlet Tribal Council (AK) $996,568
S299A170080 (PDF, 22MB)
Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (CITC) proposes Foundations – Parent Partnerships for Student Success, a comprehensive, community-driven program implementing multiple strategies to improve the college and career readiness of Alaska Native and American Indian students. Foundations will address persistent roots of the academic achievement and outcomes gap through: a) direct STEM, literacy and social-emotional learning education and skill-building interventions in Anchorage School District (ASD) 3rd-5th grade classrooms; b) improving school climates and infusing Alaska Native cultural knowledge into ASD elementary schools; c) shifting the relationship between Alaska Native students’ families and their schools to one of informed advocacy; and d) provide student and family advocacy services and referrals for supportive services.

8. Hoonah City Schools (AK) $642,532
S299A170078 (PDF, 23MB)
Hoonah City Schools (HCS) proposes the Lingit Tundata’ani, a comprehensive program comprised of academic supports and college readiness programming to support the Huna Lingit community.  Primary project strategies include: 1) providing, structured, targeted, Tlingit Language-infused academic and cultural support activities; 2) professional development and training for HCS teachers such that they may infuse Native Culture into classroom teaching; 3) monthly in-class Tlingit Cultural activities; 4) working at KHOO Radio Station, where students will have the opportunity to present live broadcasts on topics of importance to them; 5) vocational career training educational and learning opportunities in multiple pathways; 6) off-site college campus and vocational training-focused visits; 7) peer mentoring; 8) positive, culturally similar adult role models (Aunties and Uncles); 8) culturally-focused monthly family engagement activities; and 9) creation of individual student success portfolios.  Project objectives include: 1) increase the percentage of students achieving proficiency on Alaska standards based assessment in math, writing and science by 20% over 2015 baseline; 2) annually, at least 8 students will complete Native woodcarving coursework; 3) annually, at least 13 students will meet the requirements for certification in one of the designated health career pathways; and 4) decrease by 3% annually the number of HCS graduates required to take remedial college courses in math or science.

9. Four Winds of Indian Education (CA) $644,695
S299A170013 (PDF, 23MB)
Project NeeSimPom—a  partnership among Four Winds of Indian Education, Mechoopda Indian Tribe and Grindstone Indian Rancheria—proposes a comprehensive, community-wide approach to help K-12 grade students become college and career-ready. The project’s purpose is to improve educational outcomes and college and career readiness Native American students from a wide range of tribes including: Mechoopda, Pit River, Pomo, Wailaki, Wintun, Nomolaki, Cherokee, Chippewa, Klamath and Sioux.. Expected outcomes include: 1) the integration of Native culture into the No Excuses University program and all project activities; 2) students graduating from high school ready to pursue college and career; and 3) increased collaboration among partners resulting in improvement in home-school relations and increased school attendance.  Project objectives include cultural adaptation and implementation of No Excuses University and Miss School/Miss Out; cultural sensitivity training for school staff; career guidance and curriculum adaptation, summer bridge program and summer employment programs for students.

10. Milwaukee Public Schools (WI) $535,524
S299A170028 (PDF, 16MB)
The proposed Milwaukee Public Schools First Nations College Access (FNCA)project, in partnership with Southeastern Oneida Tribal Services, will provide college preparatory support to improve secondary school First Nations students’ knowledge and skills to help approximately 400 students transition successfully to postsecondary education. The proposed project will provide: 1) tutoring and academic enrichment in science and mathematics; 2) culturally responsive curriculum to support improved identity formation, confidence, aspirations, progress monitoring, problem solving and self-advocacy; 3) coordinated opportunities for career and college exploration; and 4) meaningful engagement of parents and families. Four project goals are: 80% of participating students will report increased readiness for college/careers as measured by a pre-post survey of the Expanding the Circle Curriculum; increase on-time graduation rate of First Nations students from 65% to 75%; increase enrollment of students in challenging core courses in math and science by ten percentage points each year; and increase on-time enrollment of students in colleges/universities by more than 15%.

11. College of the Menominee Nation (WI) $200,148
S299A170076 (PDF, 29MB)
The College of the Menominee Nation will implement the Sustainability Leadership Cohort (SLC)program to develop college and career readiness and leadership skills through engagement with a focus on STEM activities.  The SLC program constitutes a year-long effort to support Menominee and other Native youth-participants holistically to build college and career skills and abilities and to support their development into the next generation of tribal leaders, managers and scientists.  The program utilizes students’ ecological background as a bridge to STEM academics, while also recognizing that the youth need support to connect their culture and language to STEM+CL (Culture & Language) learning.

12. Yavapai-Apache Nation (AZ) $261,950
S299A170064 (PDF, 22MB)
Yavapai-Apache Nature School (YANS) is a community-led, culturally based wilderness program for 3rd -9th grade students, their families and the community.  The goal of YANS is to increase scholastic success and to promote college and/or career readiness by directly addressing the root causes of truancy and school dropout, including self-destructive behaviors, substance abuse and impulsivity.  Outcomes to be measured include: Measurable outcomes of the grant are interrelated and include 1) increase in children and youth’s sense of self; 2) increase in children and youth’s sense of place; 3) decrease in self-destructive behaviors; 4) increase in high school graduation rates and/or GED completion; 5) increase in college and career readiness; 6) increase in parental involvement with the school system; and 7) increase in parental involvement with cultural and outdoor activities.

13. Chugach School District (AK) $688,154
S299A170007 (PDF, 21MB)
The purpose of the Cultural Heritage Improving Learning and Development (CHILD) project is to prepare 90 preschool students to succeed in kindergarten, ensure culture identity is the foundation of early learning experiences and provide formal professional development opportunities.  The measurable objectives include: increase in student achievement on early learning assessments; increase student achievement on literacy, math, personal/social skills, Alutiiq and Sugt’stun preschool performance assessments; increase school readiness scores on the Alaska Developmental Profile; increase class libraries of Alaska Native children’s literature; and increase teacher proficiency on the Promoting Cultural and Linguistic Competency Self-Assessment for Preschool Teachers. The CHILD project consortium includes one regional Alaska Native non-profit organization, Chugachmiut, and seven community Alaska Native tribal organizations – Native Village of Tatitlek IRA Council, Native Village of Chenega Bay IRA Council, Naknek Native Village Council, South Naknek Village Council, Igiugig Village Council, Nondalton Village Council, and Native Village of King Salmon Tribal Council.

14. Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan (MI) $185,785
S299A170095 (PDF, 43MB)
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe (SCIT) of Michigan will be using the Niijkewehn Mentoring Program (NMP), a collaborative mentoring effort to enhance college and career readiness for Native American youth.  Objectives of the Niijkewehn Mentoring Program include: 1) Implement plans for stabilization and restructuring of NMP while sustaining service capacity to ensure continued preparedness for students to be college and career ready; 2) enhance the capacity of the SCIT to increase college and career readiness among youth through participation in the NMP as evidenced by a decrease in high school dropout rates,  increase in high school graduation rates and improve school attendance among program participants by 25%; 3) and by the end of the grant, achieve alcohol and drug-free lifestyles by all participants.

15. Hydaburg City School District (AK) $219,429
S299A170061 (PDF, 17MB)
Hydaburg City School District, in partnership with the Hydaburg Cooperative Association, will implement Project Build to serve students from the Haida native community.  The goal of Project Build is to develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of preschool, elementary and secondary Alaska Native students. The program has four objectives: 1) Ensure students are grounded in their unique identity and prepared for postsecondary opportunities; 2) Engage students in school through place-based learning resulting in a commitment to lifelong learning; 3) Collaborate among families, community and schools to effectively support student post-secondary opportunities; and 4) Give students supports and pathways to pursue post-secondary opportunities.

16. Devils Lake Public School District (ND) $232,986
S299A170039 (PDF, 28MB)
Devils Lake Public School District, in partnership with Spirit Lake Tribe, will implement the  Spirit Lake Native Youth Community Project. The goal of this project is to ensure that 100% of Tate Topa Tribal School and Warwick Public School students are college and career ready by the end of the grant as measured by the ACT.  Annual objectives to be measured include increases in knowledge of college/career key considerations (by students and family members), academic confidence (by students) and implementation of effective practices (by educators).  Outcomes will be measured according to results produced annually from matched, pre/post perception surveys, retrospective surveys, classroom observation rubrics and interim indicators categorized according to persons involved and activity implementation and outcome data.

17. Yurok Tribe (CA) $579,504
S299A170019 (PDF, 22MB)
The Yurok Tribe proposes the program “Success in Both Worlds Demonstration Project”.  The project has four overall goals: 1) Increase college and career readiness of the target population; 2) Increase the academic achievement rate in the core academic courses; 3) Increase the percentage of students transitioning to higher education, colleges and universities; and 4) To provide a college and career readiness program that connects students with their career opportunities.  Finally, they will strengthen student support networks by expanding professional development, offering parent programs and sustaining community partnerships.

18. Nevada Department of Education (NV) $761,006
S299A170030 (PDF, 17MB)
To promote and prepare American Indian students who are ready for college and career, the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) created a program that will be three-fold: Engage 7-12th grade students with intensive counseling engage their parents and families through community instructors and engage tribal communities through outreach events.  This project will use College and Career Coaches to individually advise students, Community Based Instructors who will be housed with the tribes and will perform community presentations based on individual community needs.  Key personnel will help implement curriculum in the mainstream school that is culturally relevant to NDE AI students.  There will be a six-week intensive summer school program for credit recovery, college field trips (both in state and out-of-state) and a statewide youth conference twice a year.  The goal is that these programs and events will lead to increased enrollment of Advanced Placement courses, increased applications to college and trade schools immediately after graduation and increased grade point averages.  The NDE will serve as Project Director and will work with the Yerington Paiute Tribe, the Walker River Paiute Tribe, the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, the Lyon County School District, Humboldt County School District, Walker River Paiute Tribe Education Department, Yerington Paiute Tribe Education Department, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe Education Department, Yerington Intermediate School, Yerington High School, and McDermitt Combined School.

19. Navajo Preparatory School (NM) $705,017
S299A170050 (PDF, 18MB)
Navajo Preparatory School proposes Diné Soaring: Local to Global.  The purpose and expected outcomes include: a) Develop a comprehensive 9-12th grade curriculum and instruction aligned to the IBDP, Common Core and Diné Educational Standards; b) Implement rigorous assessment aligned with the assessment philosophy and procedures of the IBDP, State and Navajo Education Standards; c) Strengthen college and career readiness skills for students; d) Promote a Digital-Age Learning Culture aligned to the International Standards in Technology Education; e) Promote and preserve the Navajo Culture and Navajo Language Curriculum; and f) Provide extensive and relevant professional development opportunities for instructional staff. Objectives include: a) Aligning school-wide curriculum for 9th-12th and instructional teaching with IBDP, Common Core and Diné Education Standards; b) Implement rigorous assessments through developing school-wide rubric for evaluation; c) Strengthen college and career readiness skills through summer ACT camp and ACT preparation; d) Promote a digital-age learning culture; e) Promote and preserve Navajo culture and language through advanced coursework and curriculum; and f) Provide extensive and professional teacher development opportunities as required by International Baccalaureate professional development standards.

20. Lapwai School District #341 (ID) $282,958
S299A170026 (PDF, 20MB)
The Lapwai School District program, in partnership with the Nez Perce Tribe, will provide exposure to career awareness and co-op work experience, including more preparation for college or professional-technical training, to enhance the whole child’s education and provide culturally responsive care programs to develop positive human relations, self-discipline, good citizenship, self-esteem and success.  Project outcomes include: completion of dual credit courses, increased academic performance, increased career awareness and work skills and increased cultural knowledge and pride.  Objectives are: implementing ACT’s College and Career Readiness Solutions, review of student scores, development of a student portfolio, implementation of supplemental student services and computer assisted learning, dual credit enrollment and an increase in culturally responsive. Project goals include: providing school based individual/group counseling interventions, establishing a system of review/referral to respond promptly to more intensive student problems, providing in-service training/support to teachers/staff providing information to parents of targeted students and improving student achievement.

21. Kuspuk School District (AK) $894,069
S299A170042 (PDF, 22MB)
The Central Yup’ik College & Career Readiness (CCR) Project will take a 360° comprehensive approach in providing hands-on CCR learning opportunities for Jr. High and High School students to attain the skill to become college and career ready.  There are five overarching goals: 1)Develop and implement a teacher-mentor program to increase rural educators’ capacity to support students in developing CCR skills; 2) Design a framework for sustained community collaborations to promote CCR skills in Central Yup’ik students; 3) Facilitate communication between high school students and post-secondary programs to develop culturally relevant entrance process; 4) Provide access to EXCEL CCR Foundational Sessions for secondary students and Summer XL Bridging Camp; and 5) Increase CCR indicators and performance among Central Yup’ik students in targeted region. This project is supported by a partnership comprised of the following entities: The Kuskokwim Corporation/Kuskokwim Educational Foundation; Aniak Traditional Council, Village of Kalskag; Kuspuk School District, Lower Yukon School District; the nonprofit education organization EXCEL Alaska, Inc.; Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) and the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC).

22. Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (AK) $721,331
S299A170002 (PDF, 23MB)
The Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG) and its partners—the Yukon Flats School District, Dinjii Zhuh K’yaa, and the Yukon Flats Center—propose to develop and implement Yeendaa Geenjit Shrideegwirilii – We Prepare for the Future. The project goal is to increase postsecondary education and employment readiness opportunities for youth in the Yukon Flats by providing activities to integrate traditional values and language into the K-12 educational experience.  Their program proposes to lift up at risk students and young adults while creating a K-12 educational environment using the Understanding By Design model.  Outcomes include: an education system built on the native culture; a system that enhances and values life in the Yukon Flats; and, a system that prepares the next generation to make the changes they want to make but to build on what came before.  Their objectives are to: 1) Ensure 30 cohort students will have participated in strategies to obtain their GED or high school diploma; 2) Engaged 30 cohort students in career and technical education intensives, and 30 middle school students in STEM exploration sessions; 3)  Allow16 high school students to take a media journalism class that culminates with participation in the Searider Productions summer media camp in Waianae, Hawaii; and 4) support certificated teachers and the Yukon Flats Indigenous Language Revitalization Institute participants to develop and pilot courses for inclusion in the K-12 academic system based on the existing Gwich’in Learning Framework and the Understanding by Design curriculum development model.

23. The American Indian Resource Center (OK) $896,428
S299A170020 (PDF, 16MB)
The American Indian Resource Center (AIRC), in partnership with the Cherokee Nation, the Cherokee Nation Foundation, Kenwood Public Schools and Nowata Public Schools,will implement the Sevenstar Project.  The project will support a comprehensive approach to meet the need of career and college readiness of students in 40 schools by using evidenced based curriculum and proven program designs.  Strategies that will be used include cultural identification, academic enrichment; STEM programming, Virtual Learning, standardized test strategies and financial literacy education.   Objectives include having all students participating in academic enrichment, STEM and virtual learning with an outcome of increases in academic subject letter grade performance.

24. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (ND) $304,466
S299A170025 (PDF, 18MB)
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe proposes to establish a 3-year strategic plan for a Peer-to-Peer Mentoring program to provide more resources to the K-12 system to enhance efforts with the Lakota/Dakota culture and language.  The main purpose of the program is to focus efforts so that all students are prepared for post-secondary college and careers.  The program has two goals: 1) Increase the students’ academic performance and the graduation rate through interaction between the student and a peer mentor with activities designed to aid their academic and emotional development; and, 2) Enhance and support the cultural competencies of the schools through the provision of technical assistance enabling these entities to acquire knowledge of, and increase capability in, the Dakota/Lakota culture and language.

25. Yukon Koyukuk School District (AK) $748,613
S299A170046 (PDF, 14MB)
The Yukon-Koyukuk School District (YKSD) in partnership with the Tanana Chiefs Conference proposes the Starting Strong project designed to improve the college and career readiness of Alaska Native and American Indian students in nine rural Alaska Native communities in the Yukon-Koyukuk School District.  Project objectives include the following: 1) YKSD children will have access to effective pre-K to third grade multi-age classrooms; 2) All parents of YKSD pre-K to third grade students will be actively participate in their child’s education; and 3) All YKSD children will receive the nutrition, physical activity and health care necessary to be prepare.

2016 NATIVE YOUTH COMMUNITY PROJECTS

Alaska Gateway School District (AK) $787,544
S299A160048 (PDF, 25MB)

The Alaska Gateway School District has proposed the Alaska – Care and Husbandry Instruction for Lifelong Living (A-CHILL) as their Native Youth Community Project. The geographic area to be served by this project is the Alaska Gateway School District and Yukon-Koyukuk School District covering an area of approximately 93,000 miles. The Hughes Village Council, Kaltag Tribal Council, Manley Hot Spring Traditional Council, Koyukuk Tribal Council, Ruby Tribal Council, Chief’s Conference, Mushers Association, Brightways Learning, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and partners seek to create systemic, sustainable change for Alaska Native youth by addressing career and post-secondary educational needs for students in grades 7-12. The barriers identified by the community survey and through analysis of the youth data are: graduation rates below 50% for Alaska Native students, lack of career readiness upon leaving school, lack of exposure to higher education opportunities and the need for greater exposure to cultural heritage. A-CHILL proposes to make changes through the development of a career educational program involving veterinary sciences, animal husbandry and cultural training. By leveraging expertise from high school programs, UAF programs and tribal elders related to the dog sledding industry, students will be incentivized to stay in school and consider the region’s rich cultural heritage involving mushing and the myriad of learning and employment opportunities that surround the industry. This project extends the existing pilot project, the Frank Attla Youth & Dog Mushing program, that now exists at the Jimmy Huntington school in Huslia. Project A-CHILL will leverage community volunteers and tribal elders to expand students’ knowledge of mushing, animal husbandry, related businesses and cultural heritage.

Annette Island School District (AK) $221,634
S299A160068 (PDF, 17MB)

The Annette Island School District (AISD) Empowering our Future Generations Project will focus on increasing Metlakatla students’ college- and career-readiness. Building on the evidence-based and community context, AISD will focus on increasing Tsimshian cultural identity, developing shared family-school partnerships, improving student independent living skills, and providing essential mentoring. Annette Island School District (lead applicant) is partnering with Metlakatla Indian Community (partner applicant and federally recognized tribal entity) and Association of Alaska School Boards (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization). AISD is in a rural local community and currently has an Alaska Native Education Program grant. Program objectives include: increasing student connection to Tsimshian culture and cultural identity; increasing family and community involvement in students’ education and support for student higher education; increasing family and community involvement in educational outcomes; and improving school district and community capacity and infrastructure to support student independent living skills.

Chugach School District (AK) $541,033
S299A160008 (PDF, 18MB)

The purpose of the Voyage To Excellence – Generation Indigenous (VTE-GI) project is to provide for nine 1- to 2-week-long residential career development phases and 1 month-long residential summer career camp each serving up to 28 students. Curriculum will include contextually-based, relevant academic instruction; intensive career planning with a focus on careers available in rural Alaska Native communities; personal and life skill development necessary in both rural and urban environments; and a foundation of Alaska Native cultural identity through Alaska Native cultural learning opportunities, interactions, and on-the-job training opportunities with Alaska Native industry professionals. Community-based strategies include: providing focused, contextual academic instruction in personally relevant fields of interest; providing opportunities to apply technical mathematics, reading, and writing in real life situations; promoting work readiness and employability skills training during phases and camps that focus on careers available in rural Alaska Native communities; facilitating career exploration/job shadowing; offering occupational endorsements and certifications in local industry professions; developing college-readiness skills; developing positive social, personal and life skills; providing cultural learning opportunities, interactions, and on-the-job training opportunities with Alaska Native industry professionals. The project will also include yearly staff training to increase knowledge and skills in strategies for integrating Alaska Native culture into VTE-GI phases. By staging the VTE-GI phases at a residential school in Anchorage, students will have access to the largest employers and business partners in Alaska who are eager to make a favorable impression on the future workforce.

Goldbelt Heritage Foundation (AK) $981,075
S299A160051 (PDF, 26MB)

The Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the Juneau School District (LEA), the Chatham School District (LEA), Douglas Indian Association (Tribe), CCTHITA (Tribe), and the Alaska Learning Network proposes to ensure that Alaska Native and American Indian students are prepared for college and careers by carrying out the I Kusteeyi Shakaadei eelgen—Looking to Your Future—grant initiative. The program will concretely provide culturally relevant strategies designed to improve the educational and life outcomes for youth within Southeast Alaska tribal communities. The overall project goal is to increase the number of graduates, among Southeast Alaska Native/American Indian students, who finish high school in four years and enroll in colleges or pursue career-ready training opportunities. Barriers to postsecondary success for Native students include low graduation and high dropout rate, limited achievement, lack of equity, lack of 21st Century skills, limited college- and career-ready topics, limited college and career-ready role models, lack of leadership opportunities, limited credit recovery, limited pathways to college- and career-ready programs and disconnectedness to place, governance, and history.

Throughout time the Tlingit Native people of Southeast Alaska learned to turn barriers into opportunities by varying the strategies of their approach to education. Through this project, with the strong partnership of Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, the Juneau School District, Chatham School District, the Alaska Learning Network/University of Alaska Southeast, and Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and the support of the Douglas Indian Association, I Kusteeyi Shakaadei eelgen—Looking to Your Future—will embrace the opportunity to carry out community and educational self-determination utilizing the wise counsel of the past. Looking to your Future will serve a minimum of 1,095 students.

Kake City School District (AK) $194,708
S299A160073 (PDF, 15MB)

With the support of $778,833 in Indian Education Demonstration grant funds over four years, Kake City School District (KCSD) and its project partners, the Organized Village of Kake and the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) will launch Responsive, Aspirational Support Networks (REASON), a comprehensive Native Youth Community Project comprised of academic supports and college-readiness programming that will dramatically impact outcomes for high poverty, high risk Alaska Native youth in Kake, Alaska, a rural, isolated village located on Kupreanof Island. Key barriers to student success include: academic failure; loss of Tlingit Language and Culture; lack of college-readiness; and lack of parental knowledge about how to support their children’s education, among others. Yet despite being a small, isolated village located on a remote Alaska island, KCSD has engaged community resources to support our Alaska Native students in improving their academic, college- and career-readiness outcomes. Specific opportunities to support our Alaska Native students include: 1) providing structured, comprehensive counseling services to Alaska Native students and their families; 2) supporting improved academic outcomes in core subjects by providing, engaging, hands-on, project-based learning activities tied to individual student needs; and 3) increasing students’ college- and career-readiness through structured exposure to postsecondary educational opportunities and experiences. REASON is a four-year initiative that will capitalize on powerful local resources to redesign the foundations of KCSD, promoting ongoing success. The goal of REASON is to support improved academic achievement, increased college- and career-readiness, as well as the emotional and behavioral needs of our students by deploying culturally-focused educational and enrichment activities.

Kenaitze Indian Tribe (AK) $230,630
S299A160070 (PDF, 43MB)

The NYCP project will develop a dropout prevention demonstration program designed to improve academic performance (Reading and Algebra I achievement, specifically) among American Indian/Alaska Native middle school students and improve engagement among American Indian/Alaska Native high school students. Intensive tutoring and coordination of support services, aligned with FAST (Families And Schools Together) teaching principles will work to address the achievement gaps, high rates of alcohol and/or substance use and socioeconomic barriers to college- and career-readiness American Indian/Alaska Native middle school students face. The development of a collaborative cultural credit program between Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) and Kenaitze will work to address the dropout rate among American Indian/Alaska Native high school students district-wide. Expected outcomes of the project include improved academic performance, leadership skill development, family cohesion and referral for services among targeted middle schoolers; and improved academic and cultural engagement, attendance and retention in Kenaitze programs among targeted high schoolers. The defined local geographic area to be served includes four KPBSD schools: Kenai, Seward and Homer middle schools, as well as Ninilchik School. This includes a service radius of about 190 miles on the Kenai Peninsula; the total number of American Indian/Alaska Native students to be served through intensive tutoring and service coordination includes 136 middle school students identified as requiring extra support through the Native Education Program’s Title VII Coordinator. Barriers to be addressed through Kenaitze’s Native Youth Community Project include the dropout rate among American Indian/Alaska Native KPBSD students; high rates of substance and/or alcohol use among American Indian/Alaska Native KPBSD students; achievement gaps in Reading and Algebra I among American Indian/Alaska Native KPBSD middle school students; and socioeconomic barriers to college and career readiness among American Indian/Alaska Native KPBSD students.

Community-based strategies to address barriers to college- and career-readiness include FAST and SAFE (Sequential; Active; Focused; Explicit) tutoring frameworks for middle school students; mental health first aid training for all tutors and/or interested KPBSD teaching staff; Positive Youth Development-focused tutoring and leadership opportunities available through Kenaitze Yaghanen program and Youth Council; and health and human services delivery for targeted students that is based on Trauma-Informed Care and Kenaitze’s Dene Model of holistic healthcare.

Kodiak Island Borough School District (AK) $939,055
S299A160045 (PDF, 68MB)

The purpose of the project is to increase the number of graduating native students who are college- and career-ready by 35% by the end of the funded period of the project in 2020. The project is designed to improve educational opportunities for our students, improving their preparation for college or a career following graduation from high school and increasing the opportunities for employment. Outcomes include: students will have access to a broad array of distance learning tools and video-conferencing technology, the area will have an established Native Youth Community Project, 8th grade Alaska Native youth will be able to make informed decisions about college and career choices, 8th grade AN youth will have Personal Learning Plans.

I Can Career Pathways Measures predict: 60% of students will raise their scores on the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP), the ACT, and WorkKeys assessments; a minimum of 40% of Native Youth will complete 20+ hours of job-shadowing and internships each year; 100% of students following in the I Can Career Pathway will experience 80+ hours of technical, social, and cultural life outside of Kodiak; and 60% of students will earn at least one technical certification.

I Can College Pathway Measures predict: 60% of students will raise their scores on the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP), the ACT, and AP assessments; 40% of Native Youth will complete 10+ hours of job-shadowing, internships and community service yearly; 100% of students following the I Can College Pathway will experience 80+ hours of professional, college, social, and cultural life outside of Kodiak; by graduation 60% will have earned at least 18 hours of college credit; and there will be a 50% increase of students that complete post-secondary programs or go to work.

Lower Kuskokwim School District (AK) $948,647
S299A160086 (PDF, 14MB)

The Lower Kuskokwim Early Learner Project (LKELP) project partners include the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) as the lead with tribal partners of the Native Villages of Kasigluk, Kwethluk, Kwigillingok, Kongiganak, Mekoryuk and Bethel (Orutsararmiut Native Council). The purpose of the Lower Kuskokwim Early Learner Project (LKELP) is to accelerate the acquisition of literacy skills in preschool age students, thus giving them an early, strong start in school. The major outcome is the creation of seven community preschools that thoroughly involve parents, the community and the tribes in learning about emerging literacy and then working directly with preschoolers, both in and out of the school setting. Secondary outcomes are a highly skilled preschool staff using research-based practices, a community equipped with essential emerging literacy teaching skills and many opportunities to use them, and a tribal leadership role in education. The geographic area to be served includes the Lower Kuskokwim river delta area of Alaska that encompasses about 22,000 square miles—the size of West Virginia—of coastal wetlands and interior treeless tundra. The delta has virtually no roads and travel is by Bush plane or by river boats in summer and snowmobiles in winter. Barriers in the region include early death by disease, accidents and intentional trauma; poor school performance; and the poor economic outlook for most villages, which blunts efforts to promote college- and career-readiness. The region contains villages that are culturally homogenous, with just about everyone being Yupik. The culture has not been lost and much pride is taken with promoting it; most Yupik people speak their language and, due to years of dual-language instruction in the schools, it is thriving. A cultural value of Yupik people is that of sharing, caring, and hard work, so community-oriented projects are generally well-supported.

Northwest Arctic Borough School District (AK) $978,620
S299A160040 (PDF, 19MB)

The proposed 4-year project Bridging the GAP: Pre-K and Middle School (BTG) will target two student populations: Pre-K and Middle School. Pre-K classes currently exist in Northwest Arctic Borough School District (NWABSD). They have proven to be effective, but cost constraints have paraprofessionals teaching most of the classrooms. Research indicates the benefit of Pre-K classes having specifically designed curriculum and trained early childhood teachers. The project design includes an Early Childhood Specialist – duties to include the oversight of all Pre-K instructors, classroom observations, curriculum development, related PD, community outreach and other tasks. The ultimate goal is to increase the social and academic readiness of students to succeed throughout their schooling.

NWABSD has developed a strong career and technical education curriculum for high school within the Star of the Northwest Magnet school that focuses on 4 pillars – culinary arts, education, process technology and health. This grant would focus on middle school students to prepare them for college- and career-readiness through participation in Junior Achievement and the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, a model STEM program for Alaska Native students supported by University of Alaska. Barriers have existed because of the cost to design and support the initial phases of both programs. Community, local entities and businesses support the efforts as demonstrated by previous discussions and designation of priorities. The proposed sites include all of NWABSD’s schools. Sites serving students K-12 include Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kivalina, Kiana, Kobuk, Noatak, Noorvik, Shungnak and Selawik. Kotzebue houses two schools: June Nelson Elementary and Kotzebue Middle/Senior High. All sites outside of Kotzebue are served by air transport daily, the only way to regularly access the sites. The area to be served is a remote geographic region.

Yukon Flats School District (AK) $873,113
S299A160083 (PDF, 23MB)

The Yukon Flats School District (YFSD) in Fort Yukon, Alaska will develop college- and career-readiness among students in YFSD through a partnership between the Yukon Flats School District (YFSD) and the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribal Government. The defined local geographic area served by the project is the Northeastern region of Alaska called the Yukon Flats. The population is primarily Gwich’in Athabaskan with a strong cultural reliance on subsistence activities and traditions. There are seven rural villages spread throughout this region, all of whom are a part of the YFSD.

Barriers to success in college and career include geographic isolation, lack of qualified teachers, high unemployment, low income levels and high poverty rates, no Native families in the seven villages that hold Bachelor’s Degrees (most practice subsistence living), high drop-out rates and low graduation rates, a lack of persistence in pursuing challenging coursework, problems staying on the job and what is called “failure to launch,” which occurs when a student is fully qualified, fully prepared, has the necessary financial arrangements in place but at the last moment does not leave for college or other post-secondary education. Finally, and most importantly, there is no vocational education offered to students in YFSD at this time. Opportunities include the support of the Gwichyaa Zhee Tribal Government, the local community college which offers some vocational training, the presence of the University of Alaska Fairbanks which is only 45 minutes away by air, and multiple businesses that offer practicum and internship opportunities. Most important of all, there is a Vocational Technical Building equipped with dorms, a commercial kitchen and equipment needed to provide instruction in a variety of vocational fields. The community-based strategies include: doing a part of the coursework as a project-based learning experience, designing a project from the beginning, and planning, then executing, the project in the home village with advice and support from the local Native population. The project is designed to fill a need in the community, whether for an individual or for the village as a whole.

Gila River Indian Community (AZ) $919,386
S299A160067 (PDF, 34MB)

The Growing Readers and Developing Leaders project is designed to meet the absolute priority of ensuring Native American youth are college- and career-ready through a comprehensive, needs-based model that includes key community partners. The identified partners for this proposal include the Gila River Tribal Education Office (Lead), First One Hundred Institute (Coordinator), Blackwater Community School (BIE Pre-K-5), Casa Blanca Community School (BIE Pre-K-4), Gila Crossing Community School (BIE Pre-K–8) and Sacaton Elementary School District (Pre-K–8). The purpose of the project is to support the readiness of students on the Gila River Indian Reservation as they grow through key transitions from home to elementary school to middle school. The expected outcomes are to increase: 1) family engagement with reading, 2) kindergarten readiness, 3) knowledge of STEM and a habit of self-determined reading with K-8 students, and 4) reading proficiency scores for K-8 students.

The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) is a 374,000-acre Indian Reservation located in South Central Arizona, bordering the Phoenix metropolitan area. The community lies south of the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Chandler, and north of Casa Grande. GRIC is the fourth largest federally recognized Native American Tribe in the United States and consists of two distinct tribes, the Pimas (Akimel O’Odham) and Maricopas (Pee Posh). The seeds for readiness are planted in the home—readiness for school, readiness for career success, readiness for college. Gila River Tribal families stand among thousands of Indian families nationwide who fight a continuing battle to achieve optimal conditions for growing career-oriented learners that are ready, in the words of Barack Obama, “for the special role they will play as citizens of tribal nations in defining the future of this country, and also in leading Native cultures, traditions, and governments into the next century.” This project is designed to establish a student-centered, community-based model that leverages existing programs and services to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of preschool, elementary, and secondary Indian students. We intend to grow readers and develop leaders across the Gila River Indian Reservation by overcoming the biggest barriers to college- and career-readiness—book scarcity and poor habits of self-determined reading; limited access to quality early childhood education; and low academic achievement in grades K-8.

Quechan Indian Tribe (AZ) $214,691
S299A160093 (PDF, 8MB)

The Quechan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, and the San Pasqual Valley Unified School District propose to partner to implement the objective of developing a shared vision of responsibility among tribal leaders, educational partners, and community-based organizations. This project will focus on the development of a Parent Academy to communicate and educate on issues based on the importance to American Indian (Indian) children’s academic success; to foster leadership values among Indian children through increased awareness in Quechan culture and heritage; and to increase career exploration and college readiness awareness among Indian children.

The three goals of the program will serve to address an overarching problem that the Picacho Project can make an impact on—chronic absenteeism and truancy rates, which are among the top barriers to student achievement. The Picacho Project aims to reach the approximately 300 American Indian/Alaska Native students from K-12th grade of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation and adjacent district townships of Bard, Winterhaven, Andrade and Felicity, California. The Parent Academy’s objectives will be to educate and create awareness of the importance of attendance, examine extensive barriers that cause attendance problems/truancy, foster parent to parent support, improve parent to school district rapport and parent involvement in community activities. The enhanced tutoring segment will augment the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program’s afterschool and summer tutoring programs by utilizing a teacher’s pool from the school district that will infuse teachers whom can assist the JOM program staff and tutors with developing curriculum for tutoring, while training JOM tutors on styles and methods in the process.

The Cultural and Heritage Awareness program objective will be to promote and expand upon existing programs as a means to ignite and revive parents of and AI/AN students with one of the most critical aspects of the indigenous spirit – its culture. This objective will bring local and regional speakers on culture to teach Quechan culture and create Tribal cultural awareness on a broader level. This objective will also provide support to the school district staff through cultural awareness workshops that will focus on cultural sensitivity, explaining customs and how they affect learning and attendance and other necessary information to address early intervention of problematic issues.

The Career Exploration objectives will expose AI/AN students to pathways leading to career or job readiness upon high school graduation. Trips to local and regional industries and services will allow the students to explore the types of jobs in demand, thus learning of coursework needed to obtain certificates, skills and degrees to achieve career goals. Opportunities for participation in local community events and regional youth leadership conferences that focus on STEM and other driving industries will bolster the exploration experience.

Karuk Tribe (CA) $252,012
S299A160032 (PDF, 26MB)

The purpose of the proposed Karuk Pikyav (“fix-it”) Field Institute Project is to improve the academic performance and college- and career-readiness of AI/AN students in the Karuk Tribal Service Area. The project lead is the federally recognized Karuk Tribe, whose service area spans the rural and underserved communities of northern California’s mountainous and riverine landscape in both Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties. The proposed project has grown out of an unprecedented communitywide strategically developed proposal through which the tribe’s Department of Natural Resources will partner with the Tribe’s education program and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program. Partners include the Mid Klamath Watershed Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental restoration, and four public schools: Orleans Elementary (Humboldt County’s Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District); Junction, Forks of Salmon, and Happy Camp Elementary schools (three independent LEAs identified as small rural schools in Siskiyou County). Additionally, the project has the committed support of the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Davis; Humboldt State University; the University of Oregon; and the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station’s Fire and Fuels Program. Barriers to be addressed include: poverty, lack of culturally appropriate instructional material and culturally competent instructors, and pervasive perceptions among both students and parents that college and career opportunities are severely restricted. Opportunities include community, tribal departments, tribal parents and the large number of existing career options in the natural resources.

Project goals include focusing on academic performance by using culturally relevant and academically challenging lessons based on the Karuk cultural heritage and modern day science principles, improving college and career readiness of participating students through local partner resources such as Humboldt State University’s, Indian Natural Resources and Science and Engineering program enabling them to be better prepared for college or career once they leave high school.

Pinoleville Pomo Nation (CA) $739,521
S299A160006 (PDF, 25MB)

The Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN) project will support 585 Native American students (Pre-K to 12th grade) in Ukiah Unified School District (UUSD) to achieve college and career success. The project partners with UUSD, Arbor Youth Resource Center & PPN Vocational Rehabilitation Program, and other tribes in the greater Ukiah area to implement three major strategies to address critical challenges faced by the American Indian (AI) students.

The purpose of the project is to:
a) Increase cultural awareness & education among AI students and school district staff;
b) Increase AI students’ attendance, college admission, vocational programs enrollment and standard test scores;
c) Increase peer to peer support and parent involvement;

San Diego County Superintendent of Schools (CA) $247,892
S299A160071 (PDF, 16MB)

Circles of Equity for Native American Youth Community Project (Equity Project) aims to unite and leverage district and tribal educational support efforts to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Native American (NA) youth in San Diego County. The official partners include the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and the Viejas Tribal Educational Agency. Other partners include local San Diego county school districts and tribes, such as Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Additionally, experts from California State San Marcos’ California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center and the Kumeyaay Community College will advise the project. The Equity Project will (1) increase the high school graduation rate of NA youth; (2) increase University of California and California State University eligibility through minimum freshman eligibility requirement completion rates of NA youth; (3) increase the academic achievement of NA youth; (4) improve social-emotional health, including a positive cultural identity and self-image of NA youth; (5) increase the number of in-service teachers prepared to understand, develop, and implement culturally responsive literacy aligned to the state language arts framework; (6) increase the percentage of San Diego County district staff prepared to provide culturally- and community-responsive systems; (7) develop a framework, titled Circles of Equity, a Blueprint for Creating Community Responsive Environments for the Achievement of Native American Youth.

Coeur d’Alene Tribe (ID) $583,423
S299A160001 (PDF, 25MB)

overarching goal of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Native Youth Community Project is to create a successful school-, college- and career-readiness program for middle school students. This project utilizes partnerships among the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Department of Education, the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School in DeSmet, Idaho, Plummer/Worley School District in Plummer, Idaho on the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Reservation, families, Tribal leaders, Tribal program staff, community members, and local colleges and universities. The project has three objectives: 1) create and implement an in-school and afterschool program to increase school, college, and career success; 2) develop a culturally centered and holistic wellness program that encompasses social-emotional, physical, and nutritional health to prepare youth for school success, college, and career, and 3) design a plan to increase school and community engagement and safety to increase youth and family protective factors. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe Department of Education 2016 Native Youth Community Grant has community strategies and measurable objectives involving academic challenges to promote college and career readiness, as well as health and wellness opportunities, to develop the self to be prepared physically, mentally and socially for the future ahead.

program will offer a holistic college and career program using research-based and community-based strategies with measureable objectives. The program will be implemented in partnership with Tribal programs, families, community partners and supported by local policies, existing programs, practices, service providers, and funding sources. Regularly scheduled activities to support students’ college- and career-readiness, school success, mental health, and physical health will take place during the school day, after school, and on early release days for middle school students (grades 5-8) who attend the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School and Plummer-Worley Schools. As a result of this project, there will be a measurable increase in several areas of student engagement, achievement, and family engagement including: GPA in core middle school courses, students scoring proficient or higher on state assessment, high school students applying for scholarships and FAFSA, student participation in college- and career-readiness activities, participation rate of youth in summer internships, and parent engagement in college- and career-readiness activities. In addition, there will be a measurable increase in participation in healthy living activities, motivation/persistence, healthy relationships, financial literacy and physical and cultural activities.

Sabine Parish School Board (LA) $825,125
S299A160055 (PDF, 17MB)

Promising Futures NYCP Project represents the partnership between the Sabine Parish School Board and the Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb. The overall outcomes of the project are to increase the college- and career-readiness of American Indian students in grades 4-12 in rural Louisiana. Outcomes include improved academic achievement and readiness, informed career planning (e.g., based on interests), leveraging technology to boost communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, and building the capacity of the partners to maintain this college- and career-readiness culture.

We will be serving approximately 722 Indian students in grades 4-12 in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. The project is located in rural west central Louisiana. Deemed the worst flooding in the state since 1948, the disastrous floods of 2015 and 2016 brought not only high waters but destruction and heart break. The disaster continues to have a deep and devastating impact on families living in Sabine Parish. Sabine Parish was declared a federal disaster area, one of the thirty-seven named within Louisiana. A needs assessment and analysis of data sources determined the greatest barriers both in and out of school include 1) area demographics, 2) limited cultural awareness, 3) lack of appropriate homework environments, 4) lack of access to computer and technology for learning, 5) low student academic engagement and opportunities for active learning, and, 6) lack of systematic effort to improve preparation for college, career, and leadership. Common barriers to Indian student academic achievement and career aspirations include adverse socioeconomic factors, limited access to high quality teachers and instruction, and low levels of family and community involvement.

Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana (LA) $547,425
S299A160104 (PDF, 17MB)

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is requesting funding for educational support to Tunica-Biloxi tribal students to prevent drop-outs. Currently, students of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana lack access to robust educational supports that are able to provide culturally appropriate services to our targeted population to help them to achieve at the same level as non-tribal students while making them college- and career-ready. On average, Tunica-Biloxi will be modifying the Check and Connect Evaluated Evidence Based Strategy to meet the needs of the Native American population. Expected Outcomes include reduction in drop-out rates, improved academic performance, and school completion rates. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of LA plans to partner with the Avoyelles Parish School System, the Inter-Tribal Council of Louisiana, the Institute for Indian Development, Tulane University, and Tunica Biloxi Vocational Rehabilitation Program. Areas to be served include the Tunica-Biloxi Reservation and Avoyelles Parish.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (MA) $231,123
S299A160065 (PDF, 14MB)

The goal of the Mâyuhtyâôk Program is to increase the readiness of Mashpee Wampanoag tribal youth for both college and long-term careers. Based on a series of both quantitative and qualitative community-based needs assessments, there were four barriers and related opportunities for support that emerged. as shown in the table below: In order to address poor academic performance in reading, writing and math, the project will provide academic support to youth to improve grades and performance in stated subject areas. In order to address limited experience in basic life skills, the project will teach basic life skills (money management, time management, food planning, etc.) so youth feel confident living on their own. In order to address the issue of little to no understanding of the college or career planning process, the project will expose youth to the process of planning for and applying to college and expose youth to career possibilities through mentorships and internships. In order to address limited wampanoag traditional and cultural knowledge, the project will and teach youth selected cultural practices including hunting, fishing, and Wôpanâak language.

To support the program goal and address both the barriers and the opportunities, the Education Department of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe and the lead tribal agency for the program (TEA), is partnering with two local education agencies (LEAs), namely the Mashpee School District and the Barnstable School District, in the towns with the highest percentage of Mashpee Wampanoag Youth, to support the program implementation. The Mâyuhtyâôk Program will serve Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal youth who are located geographically in Barnstable County, on Cape Cod in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Salish Kootenai College (MT) $798,026
S299A160098 (PDF, 21MB)

Salish Kootenai College, the Tribal College (IHE) of the Flathead Indian Reservation, proposes to partner with the Tribal Education Department of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), Two Eagle River School – the BIE-funded Tribal High School, the University of Montana Broader Impacts Group, three local LEAs, (Arlee, Dixon, and St. Ignatius) and two early childhood centers (SKC Early Learning Center and Early Childhood Services Head Start) to provide a comprehensive and strategic process to improve the college- and career-readiness of American Indian students from preschool through high school. The project emphasizes academic and career preparation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers and Health Sciences Careers, as there is a critical shortage in these areas on reservations and in the general workforce.

The name of the project, “Es Xcimi”, is Salish for “getting ready or becoming prepared.” Thus, this is the focus of the project: to teach and support American Indian (AI) youth in culturally responsive ways so they become better prepared for success in their lives through an array of career and college choices. Es Xcimi: Braiding Resources to Increase College and Career Readiness of American Indian Students (BRICCR) will serve the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana. This project plans to increase the college and career mentoring and education of AI students through the following goals: 1) to enhance the discipline-based literacy skills of PreK-12th grade students; 2) to enhance the STEM career awareness and readiness skills for PreK-12th grade students; 3) to implement culturally relevant, research-based instructional methods to enhance PreK-12th grade student academic mindsets and other related non-cognitive factors; 4) to create a model, data-driven, collaborative structure for improving the college- and career-readiness of PreK-12th grade AI students that can be replicated throughout the Flathead Reservation, the state on Montana, and nationally, as well.

Stone Child College (MT) $529,781
S299A160057 (PDF, 14MB)

This project will use good attendance, peer mentoring, intensive educational projects, and dual enrollment to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of children on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. The goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, Stone Child College, Rocky Boy School, and Box Elder School to effectively and collaboratively improve the college- and career-readiness of Indian students on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. Expected outcomes include improved attendance, increased graduation rate, and decreased dropout rate. The project will serve youth residing on or near the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. These youth will be current students of Rocky Boy School and Box Elder School, the two schools serving the reservation youth. The number one barrier being addressed by this project is chronic absenteeism and the results of those absences (high dropout rate, low grade point average). Additional barriers addressed include drug and alcohol abuse and the reservation’s rural location and low income status. Opportunities include several programs already in place at the two partner schools and SCC. These programs, although a good start, are not enough to financially support the major barriers faced by the reservation youth. Other opportunities include a strong cultural/community support system and tribal departments all working toward a common goal of providing improved educational outcomes for community youth.

Turtle Mountain Community College (ND) $245,930

S299A160097 (PDF, 10MB)

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (federally recognized Tribe), Turtle Mountain Community College (eligible Tribal College applicant), Turtle Mountain Community Schools (Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) School), and two public schools (Dunseith and St. John) will partner to implement a high quality, comprehensive Native Youth Community Project (NYCP) to directly improve the quality of college- and career-readiness for participating youth. Project GOAL (Gaining Opportunities through Academic Leadership) will effectively provide opportunities for culturally relevant learning that will prepare youth with the knowledge and skills to improve their educational achievement and increase their readiness to pursue college and/or careers. Up to 800 Turtle Mountain high school students (9th-12th grade) will join in college and career awareness and youth/parent/family activities to explore careers with Native role models and resources for college- and career-readiness. Additionally, a group of 100 Turtle Mountain high school students will participate in focused activities to improve their academic scores, ACT scores, college readiness, and awareness of potential career opportunities and related educational requirements. Native culture will be highly integrated throughout all aspects of Project GOAL and be a component of the leadership and community service projects. Project GOAL will serve youth in the Turtle Mountain Reservation and encompassing Rolette County in North Dakota, which shares its border with Canada. The area is extremely rural and all partnering Schools are located in this rural, remote area. Despite its natural beauty, this geographically-isolated community suffers from multi-generational distress; persistent poverty (one of the poorest counties in the United States); high unemployment (69.25%); insufficient education (36.92% drop out rate); poor health/nutrition (Food Desert, 40% obesity, 15% diabetes); few jobs; and escalating crime with border drug trafficking issues.

American Indian Science and Engineering Society (NM) $158,361
S299A160085 (PDF, 18MB)

The project partners include: the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (Indian Organization), Cheyenne-Eagle Butte Schools (BIE-funded school), and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (Tribe). All of the proposed project programs and activities will take place within the geographic area of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) reservation and primarily within the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte (C-EB) school system. The proposed project will address barriers to college and career readiness, specifically in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. There are a multitude of barriers to college- and career-readiness among C-EB and CRST students. Among those are community-wide issues like poverty, poor health, and substance abuse, issues that are pervasive and deeply rooted. Additionally, there is a clear need among C-EB Schools to improve the math and science proficiency of its students. To address these issues the proposed project seeks to increase interest and engagement in STEM subjects among students of all ages, build the capacity of C-EB Schools to support students in STEM, and generate CRST parent and community support of, and engagement in, STEM studies and careers, particularly for CRST youth. Improving STEM education by introducing a novel and culturally relevant curriculum and programs will provide C-EB students with opportunities to grow and flourish in new environments. This is the mission of the proposed collaborative project. The proposed project will build upon existing relationships, opportunities, and infrastructure to provide novel STEM programming to C-EB students, working towards restoring hope and paving a vibrant future in STEM for the whole CRST community.

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (OK) $329,042
S299A160031 (PDF, 14MB)

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw Nation or Nation) will implement Project Impact, an intensive four-year college and career counseling program intent on serving approximately 175 Native American junior high and high school students each year in partnership with Talihina Public Schools (which qualifies for the Small Rural, School Achievement Program). This project is informed by existing need, data analysis, and best practices proven to improve college and career readiness outcomes for Native American students. By analyzing educational data sources, evidence collected through an in-depth focus group and a Johnson O’Malley Needs Assessment, the Choctaw Nation found that Native American students at Talihina Public Schools are in need of math and science remediation, high school counseling services for college and career exploration, encouragement to attend school to graduate, guardian involvement, and confidence. Throughout the four year period, activities to support project goals will be administered in the classroom, during field trips and other special events, and by developing the Native American leader through junior high and high school summer camps. Students will be recruited through orientation events and flyer announcements with the assistance of Talihina Public Schools staff. Additionally, Project Impact intends to take advantage of all local resources to increase college- and career-readiness of Native American students at Talihina Public Schools. Kiamichi Technology Centers, Carl Albert State College, and Oklahoma State University – Institute of Technology have committed human resources and use of facilities to assist with project implementation. Each entity is eager to share college and career guidance via campus tours, speaking engagements, and summer leadership camps. In addition, local businessmen and community leaders have committed to speaking at engagements and offering project support when necessary.

Citizen Potawatomi Nation (OK) $117,411
S299A160021 (PDF, 39MB)

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) will implement a college- and career-readiness program for Native American students in southern Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. The CPN is the lead organization for this project with Asher, Macomb, Maud and Wanette school districts serving as the LEAs, and Oklahoma Baptist University, St. Gregory’s University, The University of Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as official participants in the partnership agreement. The program, entitled Wzhitawen (Prepare) Project, will carry out its goal, which is to provide college- and career-readiness support to four schools in southern Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, beginning in the 8th grade and continuing until 11th grade when students will commit to college and career plans. Achievement of this goal will result in an overall positive change in the problem identified by the needs assessment, which was that, while Native Americans in our geographical area are completing high school at the same rate as their peers in the state and nationally, they are not prepared for college nor are they earning degrees. This project will achieve four objectives in support of its goal including: 1) in the first three months of the project, the project team will create a comprehensive, three-pronged (student, family, and school) resource guide for college- and career-readiness that includes culturally-relevant materials for Native students between the 8th and 11th grades; 2) beginning in project month 4 (January) and continuing until the end of the award, two college and career advisors will instruct Native American students in the four partner school districts about preparing for successful college completion and career attainment; 3) the college and career advisors will expose students to various postsecondary options through tours of college campuses and career training centers, visits from college admissions professionals, and an annual Native American college fair; and 4) each summer, the college and career advisors will instruct each grade level group of students in a one-week mentorship academy, where they will learn techniques to share what they have learned about college- and career-readiness with other Native students in the four partner districts. Fulfillment of these objectives will help Native students in the partner school districts overcome the barriers preventing college and career success, which are primarily lack of in-school counseling resources, lack of academic preparation, and lack of exposure to college campuses and college life which leads to an unnecessarily rough transition into post-secondary education.

Stilwell Public Schools (OK) $500,365
S299A160081 (PDF, 11MB)

Stilwell Public Schools serves 1,410 high-need students in the small town of Stilwell, Oklahoma, “The Most Cherokee Community in the USA” and the poorest township in the state. According to the Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 40.5% of Stilwell students live in poverty. Stilwell Public Schools (SPS) serves this rural, isolated community on the Oklahoma /Arkansas border, and in 2015 it qualified for the Community Eligibility Program – resulting in a 100% Free Lunch rate within the district. SPS serves a diverse population of high-need, high-risk learners (61% Cherokee, 19% Caucasian, 20% Hispanic) who struggle to overcome community-based challenges such as intergenerational poverty, chronic unemployment (the 8% unemployment rate is twice national average), and widespread under-education (24% of adult residents do not have a high school diploma). Immediate action must be taken in order to provide Stilwell students with new opportunities to achieve academic success. Informed by our ongoing Needs Assessment process, Stilwell Public Schools has created a partnership with the Cherokee Nation Education Services Department and the Cherokee Programs Department at Northeastern State University (NSU) to design Rising Above, a comprehensive structure of academic supports and college readiness programming that will dramatically impact outcomes for high poverty, high risk Native American youth in Stilwell.

The Chickasaw Nation (OK) $999,314
S299A160003 (PDF, 21MB)

NYCP Grant funds provide wrap-around educational and family services for AI/AN youth. The Chickasaw Nation Department of Education will continue to provide the direct wrap-around educational and family services (tutoring in reading for kindergarten through 3rd grade levels, math and reading tutoring for 6th through 8th grade levels, counseling needs for youth and families entering junior high school and high school, tutoring in core subject areas and credit recovery to meet established goals) with a goal of increasing the number of AI/AN youth graduating high school in the targeted community with advanced knowledge and skill levels for college- and career-readiness. Grant funds will also be used to provide family intervention services outside what is already provided through the LEAs, as well as assist with school programs to help stabilize school climate issues affecting AI/AN youth. Finally, the project will support college- and career-readiness for high school students by providing ACT, PSAT, and AP courses; concurrent college enrollment; standard college and vocational admissions assistance; and career guidance.

Located in south-central Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation is a federally-recognized American Indian (AI) tribe with an established Tribal Education Agency (TEA). There are a total of 65 school districts within the TEA tribal boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation’s 7,648 square miles of jurisdictional territory. The proposed project will be implemented solely within the Chickasaw Nation’s tribal boundaries and will focus on Native American students enrolled in the 14 school districts located within Carter and Pontotoc Counties, which contain the highest Native American enrollment of all the counties in Chickasaw Nation’s tribal boundaries. In addition, the State Tribal Education Partnership Program’s referral system (information acquired from teachers, administrators, counselors, Indian education coordinators and parents/guardians) identified specific social, cultural and educational barriers that plague AI/AN students within the Chickasaw Nation’s tribal jurisdiction, including absences due to lack of transportation to school, utilities being disconnected, bullying due to appearance, undiagnosed hearing and vision conditions, juvenile delinquency as a result of substance abuse and a lack of parental involvement. The TEA will coordinate with local programs within Pontotoc County, as well as entities within Carter County to provide enhanced educational opportunities and counseling, as well as promote the development of strategies to address the identified barriers to educational success.

Jefferson County School District 509-J (OR) $257,162
S299A160079 (PDF, 16MB)

The 1,021 American Indian students in remote, rural Jefferson County School District (JCSD) face significant in- and out-of-school barriers that impact their educational success. Serving 2,859 students, JCSD has the highest percentage of American Indian youth in the state, with 36% American Indian (AI), 32% Hispanic, 30% White, and 2% other. While the majority of AI youth attend the Warm Springs K-8 Academy, located on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Indian Reservation, the county’s only high school is located in the town of Madras, thus making the 8th to 9th grade transition even more challenging for students. To foster American Indian students’ school-, college- and career-readiness, the JCSD Circle, Culture and Learning Youth & Family Program will work with a myriad of tribal, parent, university and community partners to develop a coordinated system of school, family and community supports. The two goals of this program are to: a) increase college- and career-readiness for American Indian students and b) increase opportunities for family, tribal and community participation in students’ education and career aspirations. Activities designed to address these needs are: 1) development of a school year morning and afternoon extended day program and a 2-week extended year program at the K-8 reservation school, to include targeted math and literacy instruction, tutoring and homework help, tribal-led cultural activities and sports/PE programming; 2) provision of teacher training and expanded implementation of AVID school-day, summer and family involvement programs; 3) development of a 9th grade Freshman Summer Bridge program that includes AVID skill development, career college education, and extracurricular activities designed to promote engagement in high school; 4) creation of a Native Family University program that engages our partners to offer school-, college- and career-readiness and cultural programming to all AI families and students. Outcomes of this project will include increasing student achievement, attendance, retention and graduation; reducing student dropout; and enhancing family-community partnerships and involvement.

Little Wound School District (SD) $770,020
S299A160034 (PDF, 14MB)

Little Wound School District (LWS) and the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) are applying as partners under the Native Youth Community Projects program. LWS, as lead applicant, proposes to establish an Extension School by expanding services to meet the needs of un-served or under-served youth. Barriers will be addressed using a blended learning program to reach students who don’t attend school due to transportation, family obligations or other issues and provide an alternative path to entering higher education. Each student will have an individualized learning path. These students will work on computers and receive individual or small group instruction. Students that have dropped out or fallen behind the path to graduate can take advantage of credit recovery courses online, including enrichment or advanced coursework. Online programming will include career pathways and college test preparation. OLC will offer dual enrollment for college credit. Work experience with mentoring will help students develop appropriate work-related skills and explore various career opportunities. We will continue to use the American Indian Life Skills program. The online program we will use allows for adapting and designing courses that incorporate the Lakota language and culture with input from OST.

Goals are to improve academic skills, improve college/career readiness and increase high school completion. Objectives are to increase proficiency on the reading and math state test by 10%; increase graduation rate by 20%; decrease dropout rate by 3% or to zero; improve average ACT score to 20; increase college ready benchmarks by 5%; and increase students taking dual enrollment or advanced placement courses to half of 11-12th grade students. All objectives will be within the context of increasing Lakota language and cultural pride. We will make full use of the existing programs that address these areas and add the services that will address unmet needs. Anticipated outcomes are improved academic achievement, increased high school completion, college- and career-readiness, and ultimately more opportunities for youth to have improved economic status and educational attainment.

Pine Ridge Chamber of Commerce (SD) $249,757
S299A160041 (PDF, 18MB)

Partners for Oglala Lakota Love of Learning include the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Education, Oglala Sioux Tribe Higher Education Department, Little Wound and Crazy Horse Schools, Oglala Lakota College, Pejuta Haka College Center and Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the project is to increase the percentage of Oglala Lakota youth who successfully transition from high school to jobs or higher education through participating in life skills training designed to promote healing from trauma as well as increased self-sufficiency. The geographic area being serviced is Jackson and Oglala Lakota (formerly Shannon) Counties on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The assessed needs and barriers for this project include the extreme effect of poverty, and trauma, and the lack of resources specifically designed to heal this trauma, so real life skills could be learned. This project will use an evidence-based curriculum supplemented by applying life skills through hands-on work experiences, community and cultural resource people and organizations working regularly in the schools, and increased and improved partnerships to support schools. Dedicated time during the school day is set aside for youth to heal and learn, together with community people, the life skills they need to cope with and thrive today. Youth will also go out into the community to practice these skills in real-life settings with support to facilitate “success.” Older youth in turn will share their experiences with younger children.

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, (SD) $992,539
S299A160084 (PDF, 34MB)

The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Wiyukcan ka Ecunpi project titled “Thinking and Doing” is an action project based on assessment and survey data of needs for the youth of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation located in the northeast corner of South Dakota. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate (SWO) includes: 3 tribal schools of which 2 are involved in this project (Tiospa Zina Tribal School and Enemy Swim Day School), 3 Head Start attendance centers, a Family and Child Education Program, a SWO Youth Department and the Tribal Education Department (TED) entities. The TED entities include the college, GED programs and other entities offering educational services.

The SWO grant will develop, and sustain in the future, the following activities: 1) learning academies through partnerships to ensure all students are college- and career-ready and 2) wrap-around programs that will actively teach, reinforce and instill protective factors. Barriers that the SWO youth face include: lack of opportunity due to the rural setting, below-proficiency academic performance for students at tribal schools, lack of career and technical education available for students, suicide completion and ideation increasing every year for the past years (lack comprehensive data prior to that), negative behavior that impacts and impedes education opportunity, poor attendance, and lack of digital/technological instruction and usage to engage students in meaningful opportunities. The educational and wrap-around opportunities that will be addressed in this project are within the Tribal schools, Head Start, and the Youth Department.

The design will utilize the Collective Impact Model (CIM) to create systemic change that will sustain the action oriented goals. The CIM utilizes a structured process to create social change. It brings a full team of focused individuals and concentrates efforts to implement a full education turn-around model that will instill a system change. The project will employ research- and evidence-based implementation of curriculum to create a wrap-around model for students.

San Juan School District (UT) $986,570
S299A160114 (PDF, 17MB)

San Juan School District (SJSD), partnering with the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute tribes, will implement a comprehensive Native Youth Community Project. The project has four main components. 1) The project will promote culturally appropriate approaches to solve student discipline challenges and to provide opportunities for students and families to engage in ongoing cultural learning through Navajo and Ute Peacemaking services and afterschool activities. Increased cultural training will be provided for educators at target schools. 2) The project will hire 6 Native Youth Advocates/School Social Workers (NYAs) who will carry a case management load of the most needy students, offering direct services and support. The NYAs will collaborate weekly with school personnel to staff most at-risk students and will meet monthly with tribal and agency partners to coordinate services. 3) The project will develop, with partners, a three tiered service model for students, including preventative activities for all students, interventions for students and an intensive service component for high risk students and families who need a wrap-around system. Collaborative groups will work to bring clarity to referral services and follow-up. 4) The project will contract with Dream Navigator to develop a Navajo and a Ute version of a college and career curriculum. Secondary schools will implement this curriculum in order to help Native Youth to make future plans that incorporate Native values and will also offer a Native Student Leadership/Service opportunity.

SJSD is located in Southeastern Utah in the Four Corners area. The project will serve approximately 1,600 San Juan School District Native American students, both Navajo and Ute, located in 9 district schools. Five of the schools are located within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. The other four are in close proximity of both the White Mesa Ute Community and the Navajo Nation.

SJSD Native Youth often face barriers such as: fragmented services due to jurisdiction challenges and poor communication between providers and the school; ineffective and culturally inappropriate school discipline measures; and poor preparation for college and career futures due in part to lack of culturally relevant curriculum. Opportunities to address barriers are: a great willingness of all partners to engage in the project to improve quality of services; a realization from the district that changes in discipline approaches are needed and will be more successful; and the discovery of Dream Navigator, a company who specializes in indigenous people’s curriculum development. Community-based strategies include establishing an Executive Council Steering Committee of representatives from the Navajo and Ute tribes, agencies and schools which will meet biannually to review project progress and make recommendations for improvements. School communities will hold a monthly collaborative staffing meeting where members will plan for services for the most needy students and their families. A Ute Mountain Ute committee will develop their own version of Peacemaking.